


Stockholm Syndrome

by MetaBlade



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Light Angst, Not a LuigiXBowser Fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-01-23 11:55:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 27,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18549268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetaBlade/pseuds/MetaBlade
Summary: During a battle against Bowser, Luigi is injured, and gets captured when Mario chooses Peach over him. Stunned by his brother's apparent betrayal, Luigi begins to trust the only person who shows any interest in him... his captor.





	1. Your Choice

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So, what is this? Well, it's an idea that came to me out of nowhere. I've been reading a lot of Mario fanfics lately and felt inspired to write a new one myself.
> 
> I have the next few chapters of this already done, so I unless I get really stuck, updates shouldn't be too slow. Also, just a warning: this story does contain some violence and mild swearing.
> 
> Any comments are appreciated! I have no idea how long this'll be, but it's going to contain multiple chapters, so it would be great to know what everyone thinks of it.
> 
> Enjoy!

Bowser let a grin curl up his massive jaws as he watched Mario and Luigi – Luigi! - walking into his throne room. The two brothers were sticking close together were gazing around a little nervously, as if expecting their enemy to jump out from behind one of the engraved pillars.

After letting them wander around in the dark for a minute or two, Bowser turned to Kamek, who was standing behind him. 'Light the torches, Kamek,' he growled. 'Let them see that we're here.'

'Yes, sire.' With a casual flick of his wand, the magikoopa caused all the torches along the walls to explode into orange flames, illuminating the throne room.

Luigi jumped. 'M-Mario!' he said, pointing a shaky finger up at the throne, which rested atop a platform surrounded by red-carpeted stairs. 'There!'

Mario whirled around, his face locked in a determined scowl. Bowser observed them both quietly for the moment, then laughed and jumped down from the platform, landing with a thud that rattled the torches. He could tell that the brothers were thrown off by his more unusual entrance. Most of the time, he would simply lure Mario into his castle before viciously ambushing him in a whirl of fire and claws, only to be beaten down due to his recklessness. But this time, Bowser had taken all his previous losses into consideration and was absolutely certain that he'd win...

He'd made a plan; a cunning and devious plan that had caused Kamek's face to light up with surprise when he explained it. Instead of just kidnapping Princess Peach as usual, he decided to kidnap Princess Daisy as well. By taking both princesses, he managed to lure both of the hero brothers to his castle. That was stage one of the plan.

Stage two was to take out Luigi first; he was so weak and inexperienced that Bowser didn't expect to have any problems with him at all. He'd take care of the green guy, and Mario would be so shocked and distraught at seeing his little brother defeated that he would be an easy target for Bowser's attacks. It was an infallible plan, and the King had never felt more proud in his life.

'Up and at 'em, sire,' whispered Kamek in his dry, raspy voice. 'Show them that you're the one who deserves to rule the Mushroom World!'

With a triumphant roar, Bowser sprung forwards. The two brothers were forced to scatter in opposite directions to avoid his charge, with Mario running to his left and Luigi to his right. The younger brother stumbled on a loose bit of stone in the floor, and instantly Bowser was upon him, changing the direction of his charge and throwing himself upon Luigi like a tidal wave. Luigi didn't realise he was being targeted until it was too late.

'MAAAARIIOOOOO!' he screamed as Bowser's swiping claws knocked him aside. He was thrown to the floor, quickly rolling away to avoid the foot-stomp that came a second later. 'OVER HEEERE!'

'Shut up, you twerp,' Bowser growled, kicking him. Then, while Luigi was briefly dazed by the blow, he brought his foot down on the young man's leg, hard enough to snap the bone in half.

The crack that resounded throughout the throne room made Bowser wince despite himself. He'd never managed to get close enough to Mario to hurt him in such a way, and if he were honest, he didn't enjoy it as much as he expected to. But Luigi's scream tore all other thoughts out of his mind.

Suddenly, a body threw itself at Bowser from behind, leaping onto his shoulders – barely missing the spikes on his shell – and driving a fist into the side of his head. Caught off-guard, Bowser staggered, and Mario was able to knock him to the floor with another punching blow that seemed too powerful to have come from someone so small. His face was contorted in rage, and Bowser realised with an unfamiliar twinge of fear that this might be the last time he ever fought his arch-rival.

'K-Kamek,' he gasped out, uncertain if the magikoopa would hear him, 'release Peach! Quick, now!'

He struck out blindly with his leg as Mario bore down on him, and felt a wave of relief when he felt the blow connect and shove Mario backwards. He was vaguely aware of another sound; a broken sobbing coming from the place where he'd left Luigi lying on the floor, but he ignored it and hauled himself to his feet, snarling furiously at his arch-rival.

As he got up, an idea came into his head – an idea so awesomely evil that Kamek might have cried tears of joy if he'd gotten to hear it. Bowser's snarl slowly turned into a mocking grin as he stepped backwards, positioning himself directly in front of Luigi, who was clearly in no condition to move.

'Game's up, Mario,' he said. 'I've got your stupid, useless little bro. What are you gonna do about it?'

Mario hesitated. He had been about to charge, but now he stopped, afraid that he might cause Bowser to hurt Luigi again if he moved. As the two enemies faced each other down, a sound from the other end of the throne room prompted Mario to glance up.

'Mario!' a voice cried. It was Peach, released from her cage and running towards him.

'Princess!'

Bowser's grin widened. 'Your choice, buddy. Her... or your brother.'

Mario's face went slack. 'I...I...'

'Come on, I don't have all day.'

Just then, Peach caught up to Mario and grabbed his arm, looking terrified. 'What are we going to do?' she whispered. 'Don't tell me you're thinking of leaving Luigi behind! He's your brother!'

Mario shook his head slowly. He looked lost. 'I-I can't leave him... but I can't leave you even more.'

Bowser tapped his foot impatiently for dramatic effect. 'Time's running out, plumber boy!' he growled. 'Hurry up and decide! If you choose to leave this idiot, then I'll let you and Peach escape with your lives.'

Deep down – so deep that he could pretend it didn't exist – he felt something that could almost be described as... sympathy? No, not that, surely. But maybe a hint of pity. Everyone was looking at Mario like he was the one who had it hard, but Peach was the one who'd been kidnapped, and Luigi was the one currently crying in pain on the floor.

And it was up to Mario to decide; leave Peach behind to be held hostage by Bowser, possibly forced to give her kingdom to him or even marry him, or leave Luigi behind to die. It was an impossible choice. The princess he loved – who cherished her kingdom and would never want it to fall into Bowser's claws – or the little brother who depended on him so much.

With a wretched expression, Mario fastened his hand over Peach's wrist and ran for the exit without a backwards glance.

'...And he left his brother behind,' muttered Bowser, as if he were narrating a story. 'Pitiful. Seems like he cares more about his rich girlfriend than his own family...' He slowly turned around to gaze upon Luigi, who was still lying sprawled on the floor in the same place Bowser had left him after breaking his leg. He had managed to stop crying now, but his eyes were scrunched shut in pain and he was breathing in small, sharp, shallow gasps. Against his better judgement, the King knelt down and poked the young man's shoulder.

'He's gone, you weakling,' he said. 'He's gone with Peach and if he ever shows his ugly face here again, he sure as hell won't be getting you back. Or Daisy, for that matter. I'll be ready for him next time.'

He didn't expect Luigi to try and talk, so he was surprised when a tiny voice spoke up, tense with pain and fear. 'H-h-he'll be back... he won't just l-leave me here. A-and he'll want to save Daisy, too.'

'Ha! And what makes you so sure I'll let him do that?'

'H-he's always beaten you before,' Luigi mumbled.

Bowser pushed his face closer to Luigi's, making him flinch slightly. 'Listen here, pipsqueak,' he snarled. 'Mario didn't win today. He got Peach back only because I let him! And he failed to save Daisy or you, so that's a failure in my book.'

'He g-got Peach, that was the important thing.'

Bowser frowned and quickly tried to hide it behind a scowl. Was Luigi implying that he wasn't important? Or at least, not as important to his brother as Peach was? That couldn't be true... but maybe it was. After all, Mario had chosen to leave his brother behind and rescue his girlfriend instead. That little twinge of pity that he'd felt before rose up like bile in his gut, unwanted, making him angry again.

He stood up. 'Kamek! Help me move this little idiot into a cell. He can be with his beloved Princess Daisy.'

Kamek hurried across the throne room as fast as his arthritis would allow. 'Yes, sire. Is he to be treated with care?'

Bowser considered. Now that he had Luigi in his grasp, there were a thousand different routes he could take. Countless possibilities, most of them revolving around using the young man as a bargaining chip to force Peach, and maybe Daisy as well, to surrender their lands to him... But whatever he decided to do, he needed Luigi alive.

'Yeah, you'd better be careful with him,' he said. 'He's not gonna be much use to us dead.'

Kamek nodded and swiftly conjured what seemed to be a magical, luminescent stretcher hovering above the floor. Another wave of his wand brought Luigi levitating upwards to rest gently on the stretcher, where he lay motionless, his eyes flicking between the magikoopa and the Koopa King with terror clearly written in them.

'Take him away,' said Bowser, 'and give him whatever medical attention he needs. Then put him in cell number 14 – the one right next to Daisy's.'

Kamek bowed his acknowledgement and shuffled away, the magical stretcher floating along beside him seemingly of its own volition.

Bowser remained standing in the empty throne room, watching them go. He wondered what was going to happen now, and was surprised to realise that he wasn't thinking about how he could use Luigi to take over the Mushroom World, but instead whether or not Mario was going to come back for his brother.


	2. Six Hours of Silence

Bowser enjoyed his dinner that night. Not just because he was glowing with the pride of having outmanoeuvred Mario, but because he now had two people in his grasp who were no doubt important to the so-called hero and his beloved princess.

He fully expected Mario to come back sometime soon. After taking Peach to safety, he would probably want to return to Bowser's castle to rescue his brother and Daisy. So, six hours after the battle, Bowser was startled to realise that nobody had come knocking on his door.

He stared at the cuckoo clock for a moment longer, as if hoping it might change, and then slowly began to walk down the huge stone steps that led into his dungeon, more shocked than he wanted to admit. Mario hadn't come! He'd had more than enough time to deliver Peach back to her castle and return here to save Luigi, yet he wasn't here. He hadn't been injured in the battle, so there was no reason for him not to come charging back the instant Peach was safely tucked away.

Bowser felt like his head was spinning. Had he been thrust into some strange parallel universe where the two brothers didn't give a damn about each other? What other explanation could there be for Mario callously abandoning Luigi to his fate? He didn't understand.

'Guards!' he growled as he reached the tall oaken door to the dungeon, which was flanked by a pair of koopatrols. They saluted and smartly moved aside to let the King through.

Although he'd never admit it, Bowser wasn't fond of the dungeon. It was dark and dank and smelled of grime (and looked like grime), not to mention the almost constant aura of fear and hopelessness that permeated the place. It was where he always kept Peach whenever he kidnapped her, but occasionally he'd also use it for other people he captured. Today, those people were Luigi and Daisy.

'Pipsqueak!' he bellowed, stomping over to a pair of cells sitting side-by-side. Every cell in the dungeon was small and sparsely furnished, with nothing but a primitive toilet, a rickety bed, a rickety desk and chair, and of course the door. Three of the four walls were just iron bars, allowing prisoners to see the rest of the dungeon around them as well as each other.

As he approached cell number 14, a furious yell emanated from the occupant of the one beside it.

'You scaly freak! Let me out of here and I'll fight you myself; I don't need Mario!'

Bowser didn't intend to talk to her, but he paused anyway, letting out a dark chuckle. 'Nice try, princess. Not a word about your stupid little boyfriend? I'm disappointed. I thought you'd be begging me to let him go...'

He could barely see Daisy in the darkness, but he saw her hands wrapped tightly around the bars of her cell. 'What are you talking about?'

Bowser blinked. 'Wait, Luigi's not here yet?'

'Lord Bowser!' said a reedy voice, and he turned to see Kamek – accompanied by four more koopatrols – hurrying into the dungeon. The koopatrols were walking in a square formation with Luigi in the middle. They seemed to be both supporting and restraining him; obviously his injuries weren't healed enough for him to walk unaided, but despite that, he was making an effort to free himself from their hold and get away.

Daisy stared at him through the bars, her mouth wide open. 'Luigi?! What've they done to you?!'

A harsh laugh escaped Bowser's throat at her stunned expression. 'Well, my dear princess... Mario and Luigi both came here earlier today, but when given the choice of either saving his sweetheart or saving his brother, Mario ran off with Peach and left him here. So I've been forced to spend the last six hours patching him up so he won't die, and now he's gonna stay here with you. Isn't that nice?'

A torrent of swear words and insults came pouring out of Daisy's mouth, but then Kamek spoke up and Bowser turned his attention to the old magikoopa, tuning her out. 'I'm very sorry for the delay, sire. His injuries proved to be more serious than I originally thought, and I had three magikoopas as well as a team of non-magical healers working on him for several hours.'

'Why's he still not walking on his own, then?' Bowser demanded.

'Well, sire, we decided it might be better to leave his leg partially unhealed so that he can't run away. He was quite... forceful. Even with an injured leg, it took four soldiers to stop him dragging himself from the room and fighting his way out of the castle.'

Bowser was secretly impressed. 'Well, I guess that's for the best then. Thanks, Kamek. You can go.'

'My lord.' Kamek bowed, then stiffly hurried out of the dungeon.

Bowser turned his attention to the four koopatrols. Quickly, he dismissed them, leaving Luigi standing there without support. He swayed dangerously and began to stagger, forcing the King to throw out an arm to catch him. He was surprised when, almost immediately, Luigi began struggling to get away, despite his injured leg being so clearly unable to support his weight.

Eventually Bowser had enough of wrestling with him. 'Quit it, pipsqueak!' he snarled, and instantly felt Luigi go limp against him, probably out of sheer terror. 'I'm putting you in this cell over here, and you can sit and talk to your annoying girlfriend. I hope you can manage to use the toilet on your own, 'cuz I'm not gonna stay here and be your caretaker.' A visible flush rose into Luigi's face, and he nodded wordlessly. 'Good. Now get in there and don't make a fuss.'

He pushed the young man away and shoved him forcefully into the cell. As expected, he staggered and fell to his hands and knees, gasping with pain. That did not, however, stop him from struggling back onto his feet and making a break for the door. Bowser slammed it shut in his face with a crash that could be heard all the way upstairs.

'I'll bring food later, if I feel like it,' he said offhandedly, though he had no intention of starving his prisoners. 'See you, Green.'

With a pleasant feeling of satisfaction, he turned and strode out of the dungeon, leaving Luigi and Daisy alone together.


	3. Eavesdropping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter today, sorry about that! They're getting longer after this, though.
> 
> I currently have nine chapters of this story written in advance. I have no idea how long it's going to be.

The dungeon was fitted with a security camera. The prisoners didn't know this, but Bowser had installed it the second time he kidnapped Peach because he wanted to make sure she didn't try to escape somehow. At least, that was the explanation he gave his minions; the real reason was that he was simply curious. Beneath the claws, fangs, fire breath and scaly hide, he was really just a man who was desperately and secretly in love with Peach, and so of course he couldn't resist the opportunity to spy on her. What did she do, he wondered, when she thought he wasn't looking?

(As it turned out, not very much. But he'd still enjoyed watching her for hours on end as she paced up and down her cell.)

Now he found himself returning to the camera for a slightly different purpose. He didn't have Peach anymore, but what he did have was a pair of prisoners who were absolutely, definitely going to have conversations. And since they had no idea he could listen in, he was bound to hear some juicy info.

Grinning, he entered the room where a bunch of computer monitors had been set up with live video feeds of all the cameras in the castle. He ignored the others and went straight to the monitor marked 'Dungeon'.

It was a high-tech piece of equipment, designed to pick up sounds as well as images – an invaluable tool for eavesdropping. He crouched in front of the screen (the desk chair was much too small for him) and settled down to enjoy whatever he might see.

He immediately discovered that it was hard to see anything because the dungeon was so dark and the security camera didn't have infrared. But this didn't matter, because he could clearly hear words being spoken inside cells number 13 and 14.

'But you should care about this, Weegee,' said Daisy's voice, softer and gentler than Bowser had ever heard it. 'I mean, he just left you. I know... I know he did it to save Peach, but...'

'It's OK,' said Luigi. 'You can say it, I won't mind.'

'Say what?'

'That Peach was more important, so it's understandable that he left me behind.'

'I'd never say that, Luigi. I'd never even thought of that. Sure, Peach is the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, so from a public view, yeah, she's more important... But to Mario, she shouldn't be worth any more than you are.'

'But he loves her...'

'And he loves you, too. Look, imagine this. You're back in there, fighting Bowser, and Mario is the one who gets hurt instead of you. Then Bowser makes you choose between him and me. Who would you choose?'

Luigi's breath hitched audibly. 'I-I can't...'

'Can't decide?' Daisy's voice was sympathetic.

'I can't imagine letting either of you go,' he admitted.

'And I'm sure it was just as difficult for Mario, too.'

'So... then... why do you think I should hold it against him?' Luigi asked.

'Because he hasn't come back yet. Weegee, it's been hours. He's had plenty of time to get Peach to safety and then come back for you, so why hasn't he?'

Bowser couldn't help pondering the same question. But then Luigi spoke, and that horrible, unwanted feeling of pity rose up inside him again, stronger than ever, making him snarl with the effort to push it back down.

'Maybe... maybe he just decided it's not worth the effort.'

There was a short pause, followed by a dull thud of flesh hitting metal. It sounded like Daisy had smacked her hand against the bars in frustration.

'You're worth ten times the effort it would take him to rescue you,' she said, and there wasn't so much as a hint of humour or teasing sarcasm in her voice. There was nothing but hard, cold belief.

Luigi sniffed. 'I just have trouble thinking of it that way.'

'Well, that's perfectly understandable. God, Luigi, he should have come back by now. What's taking him so long?'

There was no reply this time. Bowser leaned back slightly, resting his huge head in his hands in a thoughtful posture. So, Luigi and Daisy didn't understand why Mario hadn't come to rescue them either. Earlier, Bowser had theorised that the brothers might've had a recent falling-out which made Mario hesitant to rescue Luigi, but that obviously wasn't the case.

'Dammit,' he grumbled under his breath. 'I'm never gonna know, am I.'

Heaving himself to his feet, he left the computer room. For the first time, he felt afraid; afraid that his grand plan to take control of the Mushroom Kingdom wasn't going to work out. How could he use Luigi and Daisy as bargaining chips if no-one even cared what happened to them?


	4. Curing Boredom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being slow with updating this - I post all the chapters initially on FanFiction.net and repost them here at a later date.
> 
> Eleven chapters of this are currently finished!

To say Luigi jumped when Bowser came stomping into the dungeon might have been an understatement. Nonetheless, it was clear that he still couldn't move on his own very well, if his muffled cry of pain was anything to judge by.

'C'mon, Green, we're going for a walk,' said Bowser decisively. He opened the cell door using the key he'd taken from the koopatrol guard outside. Luigi cowered in the back of the cell, as far away from him as he could get, while Daisy yelled at him pointlessly through the bars.

'Leave him alone, you freak!'

'We can do this the easy way or the hard way,' Bowser growled. 'If you come over here right now, I promise nothing'll happen to you. Well... nothing bad at least.'

'Don't listen to him, Luigi!' shouted Daisy. 'He's trying to trick you. He's probably going to try and-'

With a roar, the King swung around and slammed his fist into the metal bars with so much force that they actually bent inwards a little. 'Will you shut your mouth!' Instantly, Daisy fell silent, staring at him in shock. She had never seen Bowser in this much of a temper before, though admittedly she'd never had much contact with him at all. Breathing heavily, he turned back to Luigi, who was still pressing himself against the back wall.

'Come here  _now.'_  Stepping determinedly into the cell, he grabbed the young man's arm and started to pull him towards the doorway. 'Look, you can either sit in here and do nothing for the rest of the night or you can come with me. I promise I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to talk.'

'O-OK,' said Luigi softly. He let Bowser support him, hopping awkwardly to avoid putting any weight on his bad leg. Once they were out of the cell, Daisy's infuriated shouting started up again.

'Ignore her,' Bowser growled. 'Don't even look at her.' He tugged a little harder and Luigi gave up fighting, instead letting the King take him up the stone steps that led out of the dungeon. At the top of the steps was a long, candlelit corridor. Luigi looked around, blinking owlishly and seeming a bit relieved to be out of the darkness.

They walked down the corridor and entered a large, rather magnificent-looking room. It looked almost like a ballroom, though Bowser had never used it for that purpose – he did, however, let his minions host parties here on occasion. The ceiling was incredibly high and there was a massive, unused banquet table sitting in the centre of the room. At one end was a raised platform crowned by a splendid piano, and one wall was almost completely taken up by a pair of French windows that gave way to a large balcony. Outside, the night sky was streaked with clouds.

Bowser helped Luigi – who was clearly wondering what they were here for – over to the table and sat him down. Then the King sat down himself, at the opposite end of the table. They looked at each other for several long moments.

'I'll bet you've got a lot of questions,' said Bowser at last.

Luigi lifted a hand to tilt the brim of his cap down, shadowing his eyes. It seemed to be an unconscious gesture. 'Uhh... maybe,' he said hesitantly.

'I promised I wouldn't hurt you today, and I won't. So go on, spit it out. What have you been thinking about?' When no answer came immediately, Bowser leaned forwards over the table. 'Wondering why your so-called hero of a big brother hasn't come to save you?' he sneered.

Luigi flinched. 'I-I know why he hasn't,' he said in a small voice.

'Oh yeah? Tell me then.'

'I-it's because he came here to rescue Peach, and he got Peach, so he didn't need to save me as well. I wasn't so important.'

'Really? You don't think he'd care about his  _little brother_ being hurt?'

Luigi lowered his head and said nothing, but Bowser thought he caught the faintest rise-and-fall of his shoulders.

'You don't know? That's a pity. I was hoping you could explain why the great hero of the Mushroom Kingdom didn't want to save you.' Bowser dropped his own head to rest in his hands, thinking hard. He felt frustrated. His plans seemed to be slowly falling apart right in front of his eyes.

Luigi glanced up, gazing at him nervously from under the brim of his cap. He didn't understand what was going on. Bowser couldn't blame him; he didn't understand either.

'I guess there's not much I can do with you right now,' he said at last. 'But since we're in this room...' He suddenly thumped a fist on the tabletop, making Luigi jump. 'Guards! Bring some food in here, I'm starving!' He wasn't actually hungry at all, he'd eaten dinner less than an hour ago, but he didn't want to tell his minions that he was only ordering the food for Luigi. They might think he was going soft.

'Sh-should I go?' said Luigi uncertainly, clearly not catching on. Bowser grinned, shaking his head.

'No. Stay here and have something to eat. Like I said earlier, you're no use to me dead.'

Luigi swallowed nervously. A few awkward moments later, a magikoopa servant arrived with a huge platter of leftovers from dinnertime. He set it down on the table, bowed, and quickly left.

Bowser eyed the platter, wondering if he ought to eat a little after all. It looked and smelled delicious. Mostly scraps of cold meat, but there was also a slice of bread and some cold boiled potatoes. He delicately speared a piece of ham on the tip of one claw and began to chew on it with relish, while at the same time pushing the platter in Luigi's direction.

'Eat something,' he growled when Luigi didn't immediately make a move to take any. The green-capped man hesitated before sighing and giving in. Apparently he was too hungry to ignore the food even if he didn't trust anything Bowser gave him. Slowly, he began to eat his way through a slice of ham and most of the cold potatoes (which Bowser refused to touch even though his servants  _always_ made them).

They finished their meal in silence. Afterwards, Bowser summoned the magikoopa back to remove the remaining scraps of food from the table, instructing him to deliver the scraps to Daisy's cell. Then – feeling very satisfied and in a much better mood than usual – he leaned back in his chair to observe his prisoner.

He wasn't quite sure what to do with Luigi. He still fully intended to blackmail Peach and Mario, but what if they didn't give in? What if they didn't care about Luigi enough to surrender anything to keep him safe? It was a very real possibility. A day ago, Bowser never would have imagined this scenario; Luigi captured and Mario not bothering to come back and save him. It made his head spin with conflicting feelings.

Well, he did still have Daisy in his dungeon, and he was sure that Peach would want to rescue  _her_  at least. That meant he still had a hostage to negotiate with. And maybe if Daisy was rescued, then she would convince Mario and Peach to rescue Luigi, too... it was obvious that she loved the idiot.

Bowser was so caught up in thinking about his plans that he stopped paying attention to the man in front of him. When Luigi suddenly let out a groan and doubled over in his chair, the King almost jumped.

'What is it?' he growled.

'N-nothing,' Luigi gasped out, which was a blatant lie. Though the position of his hand wasn't visible behind the table, Bowser was pretty sure he was clutching at his injured leg.

 _Damn Kamek for not fixing him completely,_ he thought, frustrated.  _Now I have to be the guy's caretaker or something..._

He pushed his chair back with a squeal of wood against stone, and walked around the table to Luigi's side. 'Here,' he grunted, extending a thick arm. 'Hold onto me. I'm taking you back to your cell.' When Luigi just stared at the arm like it was a venomous snake, Bowser lost what little remained of his patience.

Lunging forwards, he wrapped his arm around Luigi's body and picked him up as if he weighed no more than a pillow. Then he turned and headed back to the dungeon, carrying his prisoner against his side.

'I-I-I can walk,' Luigi stammered once he'd recovered slightly from the shock. He was clutching Bowser's arm – probably an instinctive reaction to stop himself from falling if Bowser suddenly let go – and the fingernails digging into his scales were distracting.

'Yeah, you can,' the King replied, 'but you  _weren't_  walking, so this was the next best thing.' He swiftly descended the stone steps, kicked open the dungeon door (the koopatrol guards weren't there, as they were in the process of changing shifts), and carried Luigi back to cell number 14, throwing him inside unceremoniously.

Daisy's yelling restarted the instant he walked into the room, but he ignored her completely, locking the cell door and striding away with a strange little smile on his face.

What happened next, he knew, depended on Mario and Peach's actions. He would send a message to them tomorrow, stating – officially – that he had Luigi in his clutches and had the ability to hurt him if they didn't comply with his demands. He would also mention that he could do the same to Princess Daisy. Surely, he thought, they couldn't ignore such threats.

...Though the question remained in the back of his mind: what if they did?


	5. The Waiting Game

The next morning, Bowser woke up feeling groggy and momentarily couldn't remember what had happened the day before. Sitting up in his huge four-poster bed, he roared for the servants to bring him some food. It was the magikoopa servant, hurrying in with a platter of eggs and bacon, who finally made him remember.

'Sire,' he said, bowing deeply. 'The prisoners have just been fed. I hope you won't object to that?'

'Prisoners...? Oh, yeah. Those guys.' Bowser took his time gulping down his food, while the magikoopa stood there dutifully waiting for an answer. 'Yeah, keep them fed. I can't use them as blackmail material if they starve to death.'

'Yes, sire.'

A minute later, he finished the eggs and bacon only to realise that the magikoopa was still standing there. 'What do you want?'

'Well, my lord, it may be discourteous of me, but I wanted to ask you a question...'

'Hurry up with it, then!'

'I was wondering... what are you going to do with the prisoners if Princess Peach does not comply with your demands? It seems very possible, given that she hasn't sent any troops to come rescue them, nor has the so-called 'hero' Mario shown up.'

Bowser paused. If he were honest, he was a bit surprised that a lowly castle servant had even been thinking about something so important. And it was a question that he didn't have an easy answer to. Picking up the scraped-clean platter, he handed it back to the servant to give himself time to consider.

'...I have plans,' he said at last, and saw the magikoopa's head tilt curiously.

'May I... enquire as to those plans, my lord...?'

'No. Get out.' When the servant didn't immediately respond, Bowser let out a deafening roar, slashing his claws through the air with a sound like metal blades, and had the satisfaction of seeing the magikoopa flinch violently. 'I said, get out!'

A second later, he was alone again.

 _I really gotta think about these things more,_ he grumbled. It frustrated him to realise that not only were his plans full of holes, but that even his  _servants_ could see it. The triumph he'd felt when he initially captured Luigi was rapidly draining out of him, leaving a creeping exhaustion and a fiery rage that was the only thing keeping him moving. He wanted to succeed, dammit! He wanted the Mushroom Kingdom and its pathetic pink-clad princess to be  _his!_

It was time to act, and though he wasn't sure if Mario and Peach to give in to his demands, he planned to send them anyway. Lurching out of the door, he went down to the throne room and seized the first minion he spotted.

'Koopster,' he growled, digging his short claws into the young Koopa guard's shoulder in a way that made him wince uncomfortably, 'I want you to send a message to Peach's castle, pronto.'

'Y-yes, sir. What should the message contain?'

Bowser let a slight grin curl up one side of his mouth, causing Koopster to shift nervously below him. 'Tell her that I have her friends, Luigi and Daisy. Tell her to surrender half of the Mushroom Kingdom's lands to me immediately, or I'll hurt her friends. Make sure to mention that I have the power to  _kill_  Luigi and Daisy if I so desire. I'll leave the exact wording up to you. You're the one who's good at writing.'

'Yes, my lord. I'll do that straight away!'

'Good.' Bowser squeezed the guard's shoulder in a way that was supposed to be friendly but just made Koopster wince again, then released him and strode away towards the dungeon where his prisoners were being held. It was a new day, and he was in the mood to scare someone.

As he approached the great oaken door, he heard what sounded like muffled voices on the other side. It was impossible to make out what was being said, and they stopped the instant he began to push the door open.

Smiling, he walked slowly up to cells number 13 and 14. 'Well, kids,' he said sarcastically, 'it's a lovely morning. How are you guys feeling?'

Daisy swore loudly, making him grind his teeth with annoyance. 'Where the hell is Mario? What have you done to him?!'

Bowser blinked in surprise, then grinned, quickly recovering his composure. 'Mario? That fat plumber who  _left his little brother behind to die?_ I haven't done a thing to him. He just never showed up.'

He could tell how much his words affected them both just by the way Daisy's fell face, her grip on the metal bars going slack, and the way Luigi's shoulders hunched defensively as if he were trying to curl in upon himself. They were subtle changes, but Bowser was watching them like a hawk and so he noticed. He stayed quiet for a while, letting them fully absorb the knowledge that their hero hadn't come to rescue them. Then he stepped up to the front of cell number 14 and began unlocking the door.

'Hey!' Daisy protested. 'What are you doing  _now?'_

As usual, Bowser ignored her, instead focusing on kicking open the cell door and reaching inside to grab Luigi. The young man clearly had no intention of coming quietly and had been cowering against the back wall just as he'd done last night. When the King's fingers curled around his arm, he jerked backwards in an attempt to free himself.

'Quit it, pipsqueak!' Bowser growled and dragged him out of the cell by force. 'Come on, you and I are gonna have another little talk. I still need you around, so I won't do any permanent damage to you.'

'Get your filthy claws off him, you little-'

'Though,' said Bowser loudly, drowning out Daisy's voice, 'I might if your airheaded girlfriend over there doesn't shut up.'

Luigi shot Daisy a pleading look. He was probably less concerned for himself and more afraid that Bowser might hurt Daisy if she kept on provoking him. Nonetheless, the princess immediately fell silent, though that didn't stop her glaring at Bowser furiously as he made his way out of the dungeon once again.

'Can you walk yet?' he asked. He was supporting Luigi, who still didn't seem able to put any weight on his previously-broken leg.

'Uhm... no, not really.'

Bowser snorted. 'So much for Kamek's magic. He could've at least healed you enough that you can  _walk..._ And so much for the 'Mario Brothers' and their supposed awesome fighting skills!' he added nastily. 'I could've beaten you with one hand tied behind my shell!'

To his slight surprise, Luigi's response was to glare up at him and bite back, 'I didn't expect you to come after  _me!_  I thought you'd only be interested in Mario!'

'Idiot. I've never been able to beat Mario before, so there wasn't any point in trying. It was better to target the weakest link first – that was you, Green.' There was a small period of silence while he helped Luigi climb the stone steps. 'Besides, beating you was all part of my big plan.'

'Wh-what plan?'

'To take over the Mushroom Kingdom, of course!' Bowser grinned down at him, showing his teeth.

'And what does that have to do with me?'

'Well,' said the King thoughtfully, 'things haven't actually gone to plan. You see, I meant to keep you as a hostage to force Princess Peach to surrender her lands to me. But now I'm not so sure that's gonna work. Because I'm not sure anyone  _cares_ enough about you.'

Luigi flinched and lowered his head.

'Sore about that, are you?' Bowser taunted. 'You should be. Your own big bro's abandoned you here, and you're relying on Peach to give up her lands for your sake. But... we'll see. I've sent her a message with my demands, so it's only a matter of time. We're playin' the waiting game now, Green.'

Luigi stayed silent as Bowser led him through the castle, not seeming to pay much attention to where they were heading. However, when Bowser kicked open a door to reveal a little garden on the other side, he looked up, blinking with surprise.

The garden wasn't meant to be anything other than a place for the minions to relax while on their break – it had been constructed for that purpose. But more recently Bowser had found himself coming here a lot too.

The garden was small, with a lush green lawn, a cherry tree, a park bench, and a pond filled with frogspawn and goldfish. It was a beautiful morning too, with the sun shining down and making the surface of the pond shimmer like a hoard of treasures. Bowser didn't spare it a second glance as he led Luigi over to the bench and sat both of them down.

He wasn't entirely sure why he'd decided to come here today. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, purely instinctual, and he was still groping in the back of his mind for something to say when Luigi looked up at him, his blue eyes wide and fearful under the shadow of his cap.

'Peach isn't going to give up the kingdom,' he said. He sounded so certain of it that his voice barely trembled as he spoke. 'I'm not so important that she'd – she'd risk the lives of all her subjects, just for me. Give up, Bowser. It's never gonna happen.'

Startled out of his musings by this unexpected and (if he were honest) rather brave statement, Bowser turned to glare down at Luigi. He wasn't really angry, but acting angry was usually his way of dealing with things; problematic minions, enemies, diplomacy, incompetent servants...

'...Yeah, maybe not,' he growled after a moment of uncomfortable silence. 'But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna try. I'm not wasting  _any_ opportunity to get the Mushroom Kingdom in my grasp.'

'I-I bet you're surprised that Mario didn't come back for me.'

Bowser let out a bark of harsh laughter. 'You think?'

'He should have.' Luigi gazed off pensively into the distance, one hand darting up to adjust the brim of his cap. 'At least, that's what Daisy keeps telling me. But I think she's wrong.'

'Yeah? Why's that?'

'Because I'm  _not_ important! At least... I'm not important enough to risk the kingdom for. If Mario was captured, then I'm sure Peach would give up everything for him, but... I'm not Mario.' He said the last part in a hushed tone, barely above a whisper.

'You're forgetting something, pipsqueak,' Bowser growled. 'I still have Daisy, and we both know that she and Peach are close friends. If I threaten to hurt the two of you, then sure, maybe no-one will care about  _you,_ but they'll definitely care about  _her.'_

'Daisy told me that she doesn't want Peach to give up her kingdom for her, either.'

Bowser scoffed. 'Like Peach is gonna listen to that! If I'm threatening to  _kill_ her best friend, she'll give in. Look, I like Peach, I really do. She's pretty, if nothing else. But she's weak. She doesn't have the willpower to say 'no', not when someone's life is on the line.'

Luigi appeared to consider this for a while. To an outsider, he might've just looked catatonic, staring into the middle distance with no expression on his face, but Bowser could see that he was really just lost in thought.

Then he stirred and said quietly, 'Maybe... maybe she  _will_ give in for Daisy. But definitely never for me.'

Now it was Bowser's turn to gaze at nothing as he considered Luigi's words, wondering why the young man seemed so calm about this.  _I guess he's just resigned himself to his fate. I mean, he's been stuck here for nearly twenty-four hours, and his 'hero' brother hasn't made any attempt to save him. If I were in his position, I'd probably have given up too._ The realisation left a bitter taste in his mouth, along with a feeling of surprise. Bowser never gave up. He was the great and ruthless King of Koopas! Arch-rival of Mario and enemy of the entire Mushroom World! No matter how many times he was beaten down, he always came back stronger than before.  _Dammit. I've been spending too much time around this depressing little weirdo._

He heaved himself to his feet, intending to help Luigi up and take him back to the dungeon, but stopped mid-gesture when Luigi jerked back from him.

'Uhm... I...' he began, and Bowser rolled his eyes.

'If you've got something to say then spit it out, pipsqueak. I've got more important things to do right now.' This was a lie; he had nothing else to do (at least not until Peach's reply came back), but he wasn't going to admit that.

Luigi looked down, rubbing his arm nervously. 'I-I was just wondering if maybe I could stay out here a little longer?' he squeaked. 'It's a nice day...'

Bowser nearly burst out laughing, choking it down at the last moment and immediately wondering why he even bothered.

'You think I'm gonna let you take up space in  _my_ garden?' he said. 'I told you, I've got better things to do! I'm not staying here to keep an eye on you so you don't run off the moment I'm not looking.'

'Wh-what if I promise not to run off?'

It was obvious that Luigi was pretty desperate not to spend the rest of the day shut in a dank dungeon cell, and Bowser couldn't really blame him, despite being enraged that his  _prisoner_  had the nerve to argue with him. 'I'm not leaving you here on your own,' he said with an air of finality. Luigi's shoulders slumped.  _'But..._ maybe if I get someone else...' Abruptly, he turned towards the doors and bellowed, 'KAMEK!'

It was a few seconds before the old magikoopa appeared, panting and wincing with every step. 'Y-yes, my great lord Bowser?'

Bowser pointed at Luigi. 'The pipsqueak's gonna stay in the garden for a while,' he growled. 'You stick around and keep an eye on him. Don't do anything unless you have to, just... make sure he doesn't escape somehow.' He couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth; he should have laughed in Luigi's face and dragged him back to the dungeon without a shred of pity. Why did that idea sound less appealing than it normally would? Was he just losing his touch – going soft like he'd always feared?

Kamek was eyeing him oddly, as if the very same thoughts were running through his mind. However, he bowed in acknowledgement. 'Yes, my lord,' he wheezed, and Bowser walked past him with a curt nod.

Just before he could get inside, Kamek tapped his wand against the King's shell to get his attention. 'Sire,' he whispered, low enough that Luigi wouldn't hear, 'are you sure you know what you're doing?'

'What're you suggesting, Kamek?' he said.

'Well, it just seems... unlike you... to give a prisoner something they want. In fact, you usually treat your prisoners like... well,  _crap,_ for lack of a better term.'

Bowser shoved his face closer to Kamek's, but it didn't have the effect he wanted; the old magikoopa and known him for too long and survived too many temper tantrums to let himself be intimidated by such a gesture.

'Listen, Kamek,' he growled under his breath, 'I  _need_ this guy alive. And Daisy, too. I can't harm them unless Peach refuses to give in to my demands.'

'Yes, but 'keeping them alive' and 'giving them anything they want' are not quite the same thing, sire. No disrespect meant.'

Bowser had had enough. He straightened up and stomped away, feeling Kamek's gaze boring into his back like a laser, but refusing to turn around. He didn't slow down until he was at the other side of the castle and then stopped abruptly, realising he had nowhere left to walk to.

 _I hate to admit it, but the old geezer's got a point,_ he thought, more frustrated than he ever remembered feeling before.  _I should have grabbed the little twerp by the neck and THROWN him into my dungeon. But... it just didn't sound fun, this time._

Suddenly, he was broken out of his musings by the sound of pattering footsteps behind him. Turning around – with a snarl on his face in case it was Kamek – he saw that the intruder was, in fact, Koopster. The young guard was out of breath and looked both relieved and a bit scared to have found his King.

'My lord!' he said, with a hasty bow. 'A message has come in from Princess Peach's castle. A response, sir, to the message you asked me to send...'

Something stirred in Bowser's gut. What was it, he wondered? Fear? Relief? Anticipation? Worry? He had no idea, so he shoved it aside and ignored it. 'You'd better show me, then,' he said gruffly.


	6. Changes

Bowser read through Princess Peach's response for the third or fourth time, feeling a little bit dazed. Of course, he'd known all along that the proud princess was unlikely to sacrifice her kingdom and her people's wellbeing, but it still came as a slight shock when he saw how... cold her reply was. As if she'd hardened her heart to the concept of losing two of her closest friends. All that mattered to her now was her kingdom.

'Dammit,' he muttered under his breath, scrunching up the paper in his fist and tossing it aside, not caring where it landed.

He was frustrated, but in the twenty-four hours since yesterday's fight against Mario, he had learned to temper his frustration with patience – something he had never believed he could do until now. Recent events were clearly bringing out a side of him that he wasn't familiar with, and he hadn't decided yet whether the change was a good one or a bad one. He didn't have time to think about it now.

'Koopster!' he growled, making the young guard nearly jump out of his skin. 'I need you to write another message. Tell her that I'm being merciful and giving her three days to reconsider. If she hasn't given up half her lands to me by the evening of the third day, then I might start lopping off parts of Luigi and Daisy and sending them to her in gift-wrapped boxes.'

Koopster swallowed audibly. He wasn't used to seeing this more cold, cunning side of his King. Bowser couldn't really blame the kid. This side of him was a new one, after all, and one that he was slowly beginning to embrace, because he could tell it would be useful. He dismissed Koopster with a wave of his claws and the young guard hastened out of the room, tripping over his own shoes.

In his absence, Bowser began to pace up and down the room. He was still stunned by Peach's response to his demands. Even though he'd had misgivings, a part of him had still expected – or hoped – that the princess's gentleness and loyalty would convince her to cede her lands to him in exchange for the safety of her friends. That she'd deserted Luigi wasn't a big surprise, but the fact that she'd been willing to let  _Daisy_  die honestly surprised him. Obviously, the gentle princess was turning into a much tougher person in light of recent events. Bowser wasn't sure whether it made him more attracted to her or less so...

He lost track of time as he paced up and down, lost in thoughts (a rare occurrence for him), but eventually he was snapped back to reality by a distant yell that sounded suspiciously like Kamek's reedy voice. Whirling towards the door, Bowser stomped off to go investigate. Maybe there was something interesting going on.

Kamek's muffled yells and curses seemed to be coming from the garden. Quickening his pace, Bowser stepped outside and was immediately met with a sight that caused him to stop dead in his tracks; it was so unexpected that, for a moment, he had no idea how to react.

Kamek was lying on his side on the ground, struggling to clamber to his feet and grab his wand, which had fallen about three feet away. His glasses were askew and he was mumbling swear words under his breath. Seeing Kamek of all people in such a state disorientated him so much that he just stood and stared, fighting back the bizarre urge to laugh. And then a sound from the other end of the garden dragged his attention away. When he saw what it was, his jaws dropped open in surprise.

Luigi was attempting to climb the stone wall that bordered the edge of the garden. Pulling himself up with his arms – his injured leg still wasn't supporting him properly – he looked around, eyes wide, as Bowser walked onto the scene. He froze.

'You little scoundrel!' Kamek shouted. There was a scrabbling noise followed by a small flare of yellowish light. Too late, Bowser realised that the old magikoopa had succeeded in reaching his wand and now was pointing it straight at Luigi.

A miniature lightning bolt burst from the tip of the wand, striking Luigi's arm and making him lose his tentative grip on the wall. With a cry, he fell, landing heavily on the grass below. Normally, Bowser wouldn't have been concerned by this since the wall was barely five feet high, but as soon as Luigi hit the ground, he curled in upon himself, clutching his injured leg.

'Hah... hah... that got 'im...' Kamek gasped, dragging himself to his feet using his wand as a crutch.

'Is someone gonna tell me what the hell's going on?' Bowser exploded.

Kamek shrank back. He had enough experience with the King's bad temper to know when it was time to duck, lest a jet of flame incinerate him. 'Sire... you must understand. I had no intention of starting a fight... he knocked me over while I wasn't looking! He tried to escape!'

'Shouldn't have taken your eyes off him then, should you?' said Bowser menacingly. 'He's a captured enemy, in case you'd forgotten! Of course he's going to try and escape if you give him the opportunity!'

'Well, sire... it's quite hard to remember that, given the way you treat him. It's almost as if he's not an enemy at all.'

Bowser struck out, claws flashing centimetres from the magikoopa's throat. If they had connected, they would have killed him.

'I already told you why I need him alive,' he snarled, so angry that his voice actually shook a little. 'And if he dies 'cuz of some stupid thing you did, then I'll make sure you pay, Kamek.'

'I've been at your side forty years, my lord. It would take more than one small accident to make you end my servitude.'

In the back of his mind, Bowser knew this was true, but he wasn't going to admit it to Kamek. Retracting his claws, he forced himself to turn away from the old magikoopa and walk over to Luigi's side instead. The young man lay curled on the grass, his cap askew, so still he might have been unconscious. But Bowser could tell from his fast, painful breathing that he was awake and aware.

'Get up, pipsqueak,' he growled. When Luigi didn't even flinch at the sound of his voice, he turned to frown at Kamek. 'Now you're gonna have to heal him again, moron.'

'That would be unwise, sire. Think about it; he nearly escaped today, despite having an injured leg. I will not heal him, otherwise he might use it as an opportunity to escape again.'

Bowser grumbled in annoyance, even though he knew (again) that Kamek was right.

'I would also suggest that you keep him in his cell from now on,' the magikoopa continued. 'Though I doubt that your dungeon cells are... entirely foolproof, he'll have less chance escaping from down there.'

(Kamek's worries about the dungeon cells not being foolproof came from an incident two years ago, in which Princess Peach had somehow managed to escape from one of them while she was imprisoned. To this day, nobody knew how she'd done it.)

Refusing to acknowledge this, Bowser leaned down and scooped up Luigi in his arms, eliciting a quiet whimper from the prisoner. He tried to be gentle, but he was completely unused to  _needing_  to be gentle. The whole concept was foreign to him; as foreign as this entire stupid situation.

Then came the biggest surprise of the day. Luigi, instead of fearfully squirming away from Bowser as he'd always done before, actually tried to burrow into the King's arms as if seeking protection from something worse. It made Bowser's jaw drop for the second time and prompted an exasperated sigh from Kamek.

'Take him back to his cell,' said the magikoopa fretfully. 'Now, sire. Before he has a chance to pull another trick on us-'

'Shut up, wizard boy,' Bowser snarled. 'I'm going.'

But he didn't go down to the dungeon. Instead, once he was sure that Kamek wasn't close enough to be watching him, he veered off and headed towards the hospital hall on the other side of the castle.


	7. The Hero Returns

Hoping no-one would see him, Bowser nudged open the door to the hospital hall and wandered cautiously inside. It was a large, well-lit room, filled with soft clean beds and cabinets filled with a vast array of medical equipment. This was where Bowser's minions were taken if they were injured, which usually happened every time Mario set foot anywhere on the castle grounds.

Currently, the only person visible in the hospital hall was an elderly Koopa with silver eyebrows so thick it was a wonder he could see anything from under them. His name was Kortimer, and he was one of Bowser's most longtime servants, not to mention one of the most loyal. Even Kamek would unhesitatingly argue with the King's decisions when he deemed it necessary, but this old Koopa never argued, never asked questions, and never so much as batted an eyelid at anything Bowser suggested. It made him invaluable.

'One of your prisoners?' he said in a clear, strong voice as Bowser approached him, setting Luigi down on the nearest bed. 'Ah, it's Luigi, isn't it? The other half of the Mario Brothers.'

'Yeah, that's him,' the King replied. He stood beside the bed, looking down at Luigi. The young man had been keeping his eyes tightly shut and not responding to anything anyone said or did, but now – perhaps aware that he was in a hospital – he slowly cracked them open, gazing between Bowser and Kortimer with mistrust.

'Wake up, Green,' Bowser growled.

'I am awake,' he replied at once. His voice was so quiet it could barely be heard, but at least he  _was_ talking.

'Well, that's great, 'cuz I wanna introduce you to somebody. An old fre – minion of mine. His name's Kortimer.'

Kortimer merely raised a bushy eyebrow at Bowser's hasty word correction. 'A pleasure to meet you, Luigi.'

'He's a doctor,' Bowser continued, 'err, sort of. I thought you might like to get that leg of yours checked out, since Kamek's refusing to heal it for ya.' He glanced at Kortimer, who met his gaze with a thoughtful expression before turning back to Luigi.

'I can't heal it properly,' he said. 'I don't have magic. I think the best we can do is bandage it up and give you some painkillers. And make sure you keep your weight off it for a while.'

Luigi was only looking at Bowser. Once Kortimer had ambled away to get the needed supplies out of a cabinet, he whispered, 'Wh-why are you doing this?'

Bowser scowled, folding his arms. 'I told you. I need you alive.' He was fully aware that this explanation was losing credibility every time he used it, but he couldn't think of a better reason. He didn't even understand it himself.  _He's a weakling,_ he thought.  _He's so stupid and pathetic that even I feel sorry for him._ There, that was the best he could come up with.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence in which neither of them could quite look at each other, Kortimer returned with a roll of bandages and a bottle of what looked like painkilling pills (Bowser was no expert on medicine, so he made a guess). The old Koopa then set to work tightly binding Luigi's injured leg while instructing him to take one of the pills every six hours. Luigi, for his part, sat quietly and didn't protest, nodding when spoken to but otherwise doing nothing.

'Wanna hear the news, pipsqueak?' Bowser asked, keeping his voice casual.

Luigi lifted his head, warily meeting the King's eyes. 'The news?'

Bowser smirked. 'I sent a message to Princess Peach earlier, telling her to give up half her lands to me if she ever wanted to see you again.'

The young man just stared at him. The expression on his face was hard to discern, but there was definitely fear there, and a hint of hopefulness. The idea of shattering that hope made an unpleasant sensation twist in Bowser's gut. He wanted to be able to enjoy it – he'd hurt plenty of people before and had never felt any guilt about  _that –_  but he didn't think he was going to.

'Long story short, she refused,' he growled. 'She values her kingdom over your life, which isn't really surprising... but she's also willing to let Daisy die, apparently. That's pretty weird; I  _thought_ they were best friends...'

Luigi, who had sucked in a quick breath when Bowser started talking, slowly reached up and tugged the brim of his cap down to shadow his eyes. 'What's... what's going to happen now?' he said with a bit of a tremble in his voice. 'Actually, nevermind, I already know. You're going to kill us both, aren't you.'

Bowser bared his teeth. 'No. Not yet, at least. Use your head, Green – why would I have taken you up here to see the doctor if I wanted you dead? If I was planning to kill you then a broken leg would be the least of your worries.'

Luigi swallowed nervously, running an eye over the King's seven-foot-tall frame, thick limbs and short, sharp claws. Whether he was injured or healthy, he wouldn't stand much of a chance against that. 'No, I guess not. So then-?'

'I'll be keeping you around for a bit longer. Not sure what I'm gonna do with you yet... but I'm sure I'll find a use for you. And your moronic girlfriend.'

'Don't talk about her like that.' Luigi pushed his cap back and fixed Bowser with the same biting glare that he'd only witnessed on one other occasion, when he had taken Luigi out of his cell earlier that day. Pretending that it didn't bother him, Bowser rolled his massive shoulders in something akin to a shrug.

'I'll talk about her however I like, so shut your mouth, unless you  _do_ want me to kill you now. Kortimer?' he added, directing a sharp look at the elderly Koopa, who had just finished bandaging Luigi's leg and was now leaning back to inspect his handiwork.

'All done, sir,' he said, standing up with a groan as his knees protested.

'Great. Thanks. Now c'mon, Green.' Without another word, Bowser slid an arm underneath Luigi and hauled him to his feet. Then he drew back, letting Luigi support himself with one hand against the edge of the bed and his bandaged leg held off the ground.

'You still haven't explained what you're going to do next,' he said, turning to look up at Bowser once he had ascertained that he could stand on his own.

Bowser put on a scowl, though deep down he was a little impressed to see the changes in Luigi; he looked like he'd grown some backbone since being attacked by Kamek in the garden. He no longer stammered on every word or hesitated to meet anyone's eyes. He still looked nervous – that was understandable given his situation – but his true personality was beginning to come forth, maybe because he just didn't see any point in cowering anymore. Bowser was impressed.

Impressed and a little annoyed.

'I told you, I don't know yet,' he growled. 'But don't worry, I'll think of something awesomely evil soon enough.' He took a step towards the door and beckoned impatiently, making it clear that he expected Luigi to follow him without any support. Before he could do so, Kortimer hurried forwards and pressed what seemed to be a plain wooden cane into Luigi's gloved hand.

'Take this,' he said quietly. 'You need to keep your weight off that leg, otherwise it might fail to heal properly – and without magical aid, you could have trouble walking for the rest of your life.'

His expression showed that he wasn't joking around. Luigi bit his lip, nodded quickly, and then limped over to Bowser's side with the help of the cane.

Together and without saying a word, they left the hospital hall.

'Hurry up, pipsqueak,' Bowser grumbled as he began to make his way through the maze of candlelit corridors leading back to the dungeon. The castle's layout was complicated, and many new minions got lost in these corridors, but Bowser had lived here long enough to have memorised the routes – and that was saying something, considering he usually wasn't very good at remembering anything.

'I'm walking as fast as I can,' Luigi protested. 'And you're the one who just  _had_ to snap my leg in half.'

'You were asking for it. Next time, try actually fighting back instead of running away like a little wimp. Maybe you won't get kicked down so easily then.'

He loitered in the corridor, waiting for Luigi to catch up, a condescending grin on his face.

'To be honest, I'm kinda surprised,' he added. 'I thought you'd be way more concerned that Peach isn't trying to save you.'

'I already told you, I knew she wouldn't,' said Luigi shortly. He came to a stumbling halt just shy of Bowser's shadow.

'But you probably expected her to save Daisy, right?'

'No... well, maybe I did. But I know Peach; she wouldn't endanger her people unless – unless she really had to.'

'Huh.' Bowser scratched the ruffled red mane that grew down the back of his skull in a thoughtful gesture. 'Guess saving the lives of her two best friends doesn't count, then.' He shook his head and continued walking, careful to keep his pace slower than usual so Luigi wouldn't get left behind again. 'I'm still gonna give her a chance, though. I've told her that she's got three days to change her mind. If she doesn't...'

He trailed off as he tried to think of a suitable way to end this sentence, and to his complete shock, Luigi smirked at him.

'You don't have a clue, do you?' he said. 'I guess your so-called 'big plan' isn't really going to plan.'

'Shut up!' Bowser snarled, thrusting his face close to Luigi's. The young man flinched back, but his eyes didn't show the same consuming, mindless fear that they would have done just a day ago. He just leaned away and gripped the handle of his cane harder, as if using it to anchor himself in more ways than one. 'If this plan of mine doesn't work out, then you and  _Daisy_ are going to be useless to me, so you'd better hope that it  _does_ work out! You don't wanna die, do you?'

A bit of the old fear came creeping back. 'N-no.'

'Then shut it. Come on.' Bowser started walking again, trying to shake off his anger with the simple repetitive action of putting one foot in front of the other. The sound of smaller footsteps – accompanied by the soft tapping of wood against stone – told him that Luigi was limping along behind him.

They reached the door to the dungeon without incident, but before Bowser could open it, a shout echoed from some distance away that sounded very much like Kamek. And it was.

'Stars help me,' Bowser muttered, turning to glare at the old magikoopa who was standing at the top of the stone steps. 'What do you want, Kamek?' he said, trying to inject a semblance of calm into his tone.

'M-my lord.' Only then did he realise that Kamek looked extremely out of breath and was doubled over, one hand on his knee and the other clutching a stitch in his side. 'M-Mario... Mario is here.'

Bowser blinked.  _'Mario?_ Are you sure?'

'Positive, sir. In fact, he's going to be up here at any moment. I just received reports that he's broken into the castle grounds and is currently fighting his way past the lower-ranked minions. You need to prepare for his arrival, sire.'

Bowser was sure he must look like a complete idiot, staring at Kamek with his jaws slightly parted, but he was too shocked to even care.  _Mario!_  When the fat plumber hadn't shown up yesterday to rescue Luigi, he'd kind of assumed it was never going to happen. But now he was here. And by the sounds of it, he was spoiling for a fight. Bowser's stunned expression gradually shifted into a grin of anticipation. Well, that didn't matter. So was he.

'Get all the koopatrols into the throne room,' he barked, and Kamek scrambled to obey despite still being in obvious pain. 'Every single one who's not injured from last time! We're gonna throw everything we have at Mario and  _obliterate_ him!'

Roaring with laughter, he practically jumped up the steps to follow Kamek to the throne room. Such was his excitement at getting the chance to fight his arch-rival again, and such was his belief that he was going to win, he didn't even realise that he'd left Luigi standing outside the door to the dungeon and not locked in his cell.


	8. Brothers Separated

Somebody had lit the torches lining the walls of the throne room, making the scene look eerily reminiscent of yesterday's battle against Mario. But this time, the floor was covered in lines of koopatrol soldiers as well – at least three dozen of them, heavily armoured, eyes glowing through dark visors, metal-clad hands curled into fists. None of them moved. They stood silently, all facing the door that Mario was going to burst through at any second. They didn't even appear to be breathing.

Bowser came in through a different door and immediately climbed up to the raised platform where his throne stood, resplendent with its crimson cushion and gold-plated back. Jewels of every colour imaginable glittered in the arms of the throne. If he were to disassemble and sell it, the whole thing would have probably fetched more money than the entire contents of Peach's royal treasury.

He leaned one elbow on the throne and waited. He wasn't nervous – he had never been nervous before fighting Mario – but a strong sense of anticipation coiled in his stomach that almost made him feel as if he was. 'What's taking the guy so long?' he muttered, quietly enough that only Kamek heard. The old magikoopa was crouched behind him, wand at the ready in case he needed to assist his King during the battle to come.

In light of Mario's arrival, Bowser had – mostly – forgotten what Kamek had done to annoy him. In fact, he'd driven all thoughts of Luigi out of his mind. All that mattered was the fight, and he was glad to have the magikoopa at his back when it happened.

'I imagine he's run into some difficulties outside, sire,' said Kamek. 'I did send a battalion of Hammer Bros into the grounds to intercept him. Hopefully, by the time he gets up here, he'll be weakened and a much easier target for your attacks.'

Bowser scowled. 'I don't need you to soften him up, Kamek! I can handle the idiot just fine on my own.'

'Of course, sire.'

Suddenly, the door crashed open. Instantly all the koopatrols dropped into a battle stance, raising spiked fists in front of their metal-plated chests. The red-and-blue figure who'd just burst through the door skidded to a halt, looking around in bewilderment at the lines of waiting troops.

'Wait up!' Bowser ordered, and the koopatrols relaxed their stance. However, he knew they were ready to attack if Mario so much as breathed too forcefully.

'Be careful, sire,' hissed Kamek. Bowser grinned and walked down the steps of the platform, folding his arms arrogantly as he went. The koopatrols, without needing to be told, slid to either side to open a path for him. He had never felt more powerful in his life.

'Well, plumber boy,' he said, stopping about ten feet away from Mario. 'How's it been going?'

Mario said nothing. He stood half-crouched, his body tense, watching Bowser warily.

'I was wondering when you were gonna show your ugly face here again. You sure took your time.'

Mario opened his mouth to retort, but then froze, staring at something behind Bowser's back. And he looked horrified. With a growl, Bowser whirled around to see what had caught the plumber's attention – then stopped dead when his gaze fell upon Luigi standing at the base of the steps.

'Bro!' Mario cried out. He took an involuntary step forwards before being forced back by the battalion of koopatrol soldiers. 'Are you OK?'

Luigi was breathing hard and supporting himself on his new cane, his injured leg held off the floor. Like Mario, he looked stunned, though Bowser suspected it was for entirely different reasons.

Then, all of a sudden, his shoulders slumped and he looked at the floor.

'It's fine, Mario,' he said quietly. 'You don't have to explain anything. I know why you did it.'

'Did what?' Mario said, blinking in surprise.

Before Luigi could answer, Bowser let out an earth-shaking roar that made both brothers jump to attention.

'As cosy as this reunion is, I'm the one talking here!' he said, taking a step closer to Mario. 'And I've got a question for you. Why are you here?'

'Why... am I here?'

Another bellowing roar rang out; behind the throne, Kamek cringed.

'Did your brain fall out through your nose?!' Bowser snarled.  _'Why are you here?!_  Did you finally decide to get off your backside and rescue you spineless little brother?'

Mario's gaze dropped to the floor. He looked uncomfortable. 'I can explain.'

'Really? Go on then. I'm pretty curious to hear it myself. In fact, just lemme take a good seat over here.' In a quick series of leaps, Bowser ascended the platform and settled down on his elaborate throne, looking down at his arch-rival with a grin that had no humour in it. 'Spill the beans, plumber boy.'

Mario drew in a deep breath and began to speak, so rapidly that Bowser had to concentrate to keep up with what he was saying.

'After I left here yesterday, with Peach, we both thought... well, we both assumed you were just going to kill Luigi,' he said, carefully not looking at anyone in the room. 'I didn't think there was any chance we'd be able to get him back in time. I thought: 'this is it, I'm not going to see him again. I made my decision, and my decision was to save Peach.' But then your message came to us, and we realised Luigi and Daisy were both still alive and unharmed. But...' He hesitated.

'Go on,' Bowser growled.

'Something in Peach... changed,' Mario continued, sounding wretched. 'She said that her kingdom and subjects were much more important than two people, no matter how much she cared about them. She refused to give in.'

Bowser folded his arms. He wished he could see Luigi's face, see his reaction to all of this, but the green-capped man was staring fixedly at Mario. 'And I guess you didn't try very hard to change her mind,' he scoffed.

'Of course I tried!' Mario shot back, some of his usual fire returning. 'But she said there was no way she was ever gonna give in to you! And then, just a while ago, she came to me. In secret. She was  _crying._  She said she couldn't bear to lose her best friend because of this. And she asked me to sneak in here and rescue Daisy. So... that's why I'm here. I'm gonna fight you and beat you, and then I'm gonna get Daisy back – and Luigi, too.' He glared hatefully up at Bowser. 'Peach doesn't deserve everything you've put her through.'

Bowser just sat there, so surprised that he couldn't even begin to form any sort of a comeback. At the bottom of the steps, Luigi stood, looking as motionless as the koopatrol soldiers that surrounded him. Complete silence filled the room. Even Kamek, lurking somewhere behind Bowser's throne, didn't have a word to say.

Then Bowser opened his mouth and a great burst of laughter came out. It wasn't even real laughter, sounding more incredulous than amused, and he had no idea why he was doing it. Everyone stared at him as if they were worried he was losing his mind. Finally, doubled over in his throne, he managed to force the strange laughter back down where it had come from and locked eyes with Mario.

'Oh, this is rich!' he exclaimed, thumping a fist on the arm of the throne. 'This is a great story to tell!' Another choking bout of laughter slipped out of his mouth. 'You're willing to come here and rescue Princess Daisy because  _you're doing it for Peach,_ but you wouldn't come here just to save your brother! You've got your priorities in a weird place, plumber boy!' Mario hunched his shoulders and said nothing. 'I don't even wanna fight you over something this stupid. In fact... Kamek! Get Daisy out of her cell and bring her up here. NOW!'

'What are you doing?' Mario demanded.

'What do you think I'm doing, plumber boy? I'm giving you what you and your sweetheart want. You can have Daisy. I don't want her here anyway; she annoys me. Take her back.'

Once again, everyone in the room – even a few of the well-disciplined koopatrols – stared at their King in shocked silence. A minute later, three Hammer Bros came hurrying forwards with Daisy, who was fighting tooth and nail to reach Luigi. It took all three of them to restrain her and they still looked like they were having trouble.

'Take her to Mario,' Bowser instructed. He was beginning to enjoy the drama that was playing out in front of him.

Mario's mouth opened as the guards forcibly dragged Daisy towards him. She was still trying desperately to reach her boyfriend, who was standing stock-still at the bottom of the steps.

Bowser stood up and slashed his claws through the air with a metallic whirring noise. 'Take her and get out of my castle.'

'Not until you hand Luigi over.'

The King scoffed. 'No way. You came here for Daisy. You're getting Daisy. Don't push your luck.'

'I came for Luigi too-!'

For the third time, a roar erupted that made everyone in the room resist the urge to cover their ears.

'Don't lie, plumber boy!' he bellowed. 'You didn't  _come here_  to rescue your weakling of a brother – if it weren't for Daisy then you wouldn't be here at all! You came for her, and were just hoping you  _might_ be able to rescue Luigi on the side! He was never your priority. Get out of my castle!'

Deep down, a part of him wondered why his temper was boiling so high. Why did it matter to him if Mario cared about his brother or not? Their pathetic excuse for a family relationship had nothing to do with him. Maybe it was simply because he'd expected so much more from the man who, in the Mushroom Kingdom, had always been praised as a hero. Now, upon realising that Mario valued Peach a hundred times more than anyone else, including his own little brother, he couldn't help feeling a sense of disgust.

Suddenly, Mario shifted his weight. Then he charged, taking advantage of the gap the koopatrol battalion had created to sprint past them all and fling himself up onto the platform with an impressive jump. His face was contorted in rage and a white-gloved fist was pulling back to strike the Koopa King before his feet had even touched the floor of the platform.

'STOP!' a voice rang out, but nobody paid any attention.

Mario's fist slammed into his jaw, hard enough that even the seven-foot-tall King was knocked down. He collapsed against the side of the throne and grunted with pain as sharp pieces of gemstones dug into his scales. He could taste blood in his mouth and was pretty sure a tooth had been loosened. Blindly, he lashed out with his claws in an attempt to hit Mario and throw him off the edge of the platform, but the plumber dodged his clumsy, disorientated blow with ease and lunged forwards for another.

Then there came a sickening thud of wood against flesh, and Mario staggered backwards, clutching his side. Bowser had no idea what had just happened, but he took full advantage of it. Using the throne as a crutch, he pulled himself halfway to his feet and struck out again, snarling with bloodthirsty satisfaction when his claws caught Mario's arm, opening a trio of thin gashes.

Mario stumbled backwards even further until he was standing precariously on the very edge of the platform. Hunched over, bruised and bleeding slightly, there was nothing in his eyes except disbelief. Bowser shifted his weight, absently reaching up to feel around inside his mouth. Then he caught sight of Luigi standing beside him, gripping the cane he'd used to hit Mario with. His face was set in a determined scowl.

'Get out,' he said, his voice shaking. He looked directly into Mario's eyes while he spoke.

Bowser withdrew his hand, sucking in a breath when his fingers came away bloody. 'You heard him,' he growled, pointing a threatening claw at Mario. 'Get the hell out of my castle before I finish you off right here and now.'

Mario looked like he had no idea what to do or say. His gaze kept flicking back and forth between his brother and Bowser.

'Luigi,' he said pleadingly, 'I swear this wasn't how things were meant to turn out. I messed up, yeah, I've been stupid, but I wanted to save you. You're important to me-'

'Not as important as Princess Peach, though, is he?' Bowser snarled. He swung his claws through the air again, missing Mario's face by mere inches. 'Give it up, plumber boy. You've got Daisy, so now you can run back to your sweetheart and you can both be happy together.'

'Not until-'

'GUARDS!' Bowser roared, and had the satisfaction of seeing his arch-rival flinch as every koopatrol in the room turned towards him. But it wasn't over yet.

'I don't understand!' Mario exclaimed, staring at Luigi and looking lost. 'Why did you stop me attacking  _him?'_  He jerked a finger towards Bowser. 'If I beat him then we could have both escaped together! Everything would have been OK!'

Luigi drew in a sharp breath. 'I-I'm not sure,' he admitted. 'It just... felt like the right thing to do. Besides,' he added, a hint of steel entering his voice now, 'you don't care that much about me. It's just like Bowser said – you'll risk your life doing anything for Peach, but you won't do the same for  _me.'_ His voice was rising, becoming frantic. 'Maybe it's better for everyone if I just stay here.'

'Don't be stupid, Luigi!' Mario looked stricken. The hand that wasn't holding his side was stretched out towards his brother. 'I'm not leaving until you come with me. I know I've screwed up, I know I've been a terrible excuse for a brother, but I want to make things right!' He sounded like he was about to start crying. 'Please?'

Luigi bit his lip, almost stepped forwards, then stopped and shook his head. 'Sorry, Mario. I can't come back with you, just to be... unwanted. I know now that nobody's really interested in me back home. I'm just your weak little brother. Not important. Not worth risking your life over.'

'So what are you gonna do?' Mario demanded. 'Are you going to stay here with  _Bowser?'_

Luigi blinked. 'I-I don't know,' he said. Before he could go on, Bowser straightened up and slashed his claws through the air again. He was getting bored with this little soap opera now; time to end it.

'Koopatrols!' he roared. 'Get him out of here and escort him back into the borders of the Mushroom Kingdom. And those guys who have Daisy, do the same.' Without hesitation, the guards surrounded Mario and began forcing him away towards the door. He seemed too dazed to put up much of a fight.

Daisy wasn't planning on going so quietly. 'LUIGI!' she screamed, clawing at the arm of the Hammer Bro holding her, 'I swear, as soon as I get back I'm going to find a way to save you too! I'm not leaving you here!'

Luigi gave her a small, sad smile. 'Thanks, Daisy,' he said softly. 'But you don't to go to all the trouble. I-I'll be OK.'

By the time he finished speaking, the guards had taken Daisy too far away for her to hear him. She was forced out of the door, followed closely by Mario. Bowser stayed standing beside his throne. He didn't move, didn't even glance at Luigi, until the metallic sound of the soldiers' footsteps beating at the stone floors had faded into the distance and he was sure they were alone again.

Then he suddenly turned and grabbed Luigi's arm, none too gently. 'Come on, in here,' he muttered and began to lead the young man down the steps. 'We're gonna have a talk.'

He was vaguely aware of Kamek watching them curiously from the shadows, but he completely ignored the magikoopa and strode off into another room, the door thumping shut behind him.


	9. The Walk Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really short (sorry) but it's necessary for the progression of the story.

Daisy remained rigidly silent for most of the walk back. She didn't want to talk to the guards escorting them, and she certainly didn't want to talk to Mario, who kept throwing nervous, guilty glances in her direction.

She was disappointed in him, but she didn't hate him. She knew he really did care about Luigi – he might have done a terrible job at showing it, and yes, he'd made some bad decisions, but he  _did_ care. The look on his face was enough evidence of that. That didn't stop her from being disappointed in him, though.

She was also worried about Luigi, but she was confident that he'd be OK until she could rescue him. He was much tougher than most people believed and he'd survived his imprisonment so far. He just needed to hang on a little bit longer.

Ten koopatrols and three Hammer Bros surrounded them, obviously intent on following them until they were far enough from Bowser's lands that they wouldn't simply turn around and run back. When they reached the border of the Mushroom Kingdom and the gleaming white stones of Peach's castle became visible between the hills on the horizon, the escort finally left, waving and murmuring words of farewell as they started back up the road to Bowser's castle.

Daisy rolled her eyes and waved sarcastically back at them. 'Nice guys,' she muttered. Mario looked up at her in surprise. It was the first thing she had said since they'd gotten out.

'What's going to happen now?' he asked warily.

Daisy sobered, letting her expression shift into a frown. She turned towards him and seized his shoulders in a biting grip, wanting him to know that she was being completely serious.

'I'll tell you what's going to happen now,' she said quietly. 'We're going back to Peach's place, and as soon as we get there, I'm going to start making plans to rescue Luigi. And I  _will_ do it.'

He nodded, looking like this didn't surprise him.

'And,' she added, 'I might need your help.'

'My... help?'

'Yeah. I mean, I don't exactly fancy my chances at sneaking into Bowser's castle dungeon on my own. I might need some backup, and well, you're about the only person I can ask.' She curled her lip back in a sneer. 'Even if I don't exactly trust you to do it, either.  _Why_ didn't you go in there to rescue him after you found out he was still alive?'

Mario's gaze dropped to the ground.

'You don't even know?' Sighing, Daisy let go of his shoulders. It was time to cut him some slack. 'Well, I think  _I_  know. You wanted to rescue him – but Peach was having a really rough time, dealing with Bowser's demands for her kingdom and the grief of maybe losing  _me,_  and you didn't want to leave her to rescue Luigi. Am I close?'

His eyes shot up and he gazed at her with his mouth slightly open. That was all the confirmation she needed.

'Yeah, I thought so. Listen... you haven't completely ruined things with Luigi. If you see him again and explain everything, I think he might understand.' She wasn't entirely sure of this, but she knew that, if nothing else, Luigi was a compassionate person who had way too much capacity to forgive. 'You were forced to make a choice between staying with Peach – who needed you for emotional support – or risking your life saving him. That can't have been an easy decision.'

'...No,' said Mario in a low voice. 'I  _wanted_  to save him, but...'

'And you  _still have a chance to._  When we get back, I'm going to start figuring out a way to rescue him. I'm going to get him back, no matter how hurt I get in the process – even if it kills me.' She gave him a fierce look, seeing it returned by wide blue eyes that were so weary and so much like his brother's. 'You on board?'

He nodded, quick and sharp.

'Then that's settled.'


	10. Join the Ranks

'Why are we in here, again?'

Bowser didn't answer until they were both inside the room and the door was firmly shut behind them; he didn't expect it to stop Kamek from eavesdropping, but at least it gave him a false feeling of privacy. Then he folded his powerful arms across his chest and gazed down at Luigi with an impassive expression.

They were in what he dubbed 'the trophy room' – it was actually full of various treasures and objects that Bowser had taken from his enemies over the years. Some of them dated back to when he first became the King of Koopas, and he didn't even remember where all of them came from. He cast a brief, fond glance at them before returning his full attention to Luigi.

'Cuz I wanna talk,' he said shortly.

The green-capped man lifted an eyebrow. He was supporting himself on his cane and looked remarkably calm considering everything that had just happened. Bowser didn't know if he was simply bottling up his feelings or if he genuinely didn't care anymore.

'About what?' he said innocently, and Bowser scowled.

'What do you think, genius? Why did you help me out back there?!'

At this, Luigi dropped his gaze to the floor and sighed quietly. Apparently he'd been hoping that this subject wouldn't come up for a long time, if at all.

'I don't know,' he said at last.

Now it was Bowser's turn to stare at him incredulously. 'You don't know? How? You literally jumped in front of your own brother to stop him attacking  _me._ Don't tell me you don't have an explanation for that.'

Luigi scraped the toe of his boot along the floor and didn't answer.

In a deliberate movement, Bowser stepped sideways, putting his spiked back firmly against the closed door. 'Neither of us is leaving until I get some words out of you, pipsqueak,' he growled. 'Now tell me!'

'Fine!' Luigi suddenly spat. 'I did it because I wanted to! Alright? I-I did it because... I didn't want Mario to win. I didn't want to be forced to go back home, where nobody cares about me. I'm not important there; I'm  _nothing._  Mario wouldn't have even bothered saving me if I were the only one captured, not Daisy as well. My own brother!' He was glaring, eyes narrowed and fists clenched, but Bowser didn't see anger in his expression. He only saw hurt and fear.

'And what makes you think being  _here_ is any better?' he scoffed. 'Sure, maybe you're a worthless wimp back home, but you'd have been free, and had people to look after you. Here, you're my  _prisoner._ And don't you ever forget that.'

A harsh laugh burst out of Luigi's throat, almost making him jump – much to his disgust. 'Prisoner? Hah hah, really? I haven't been feeling much like one lately. Let me ask  _you_ something,  _Bowser_  – why have you been treating me so much better than you treat your other prisoners?' The King opened his mouth to retort, but Luigi went plunging on: 'Even Peach didn't get this kind of treatment when she was kidnapped; she wasn't allowed out of her cell, she wasn't given much food, and I'd wager that you wouldn't have cared if she was hurt. So why am I  _special,_ huh?'

Slowly, Bowser unfolded his arms. This was a conversation that required honesty, and he knew that if he wasn't honest, then he wouldn't get the same from Luigi.

'I don't know,' he said, which was the truth. Luigi's eyes widened, and a split second later he started to laugh. It wasn't a harsh, angry laugh this time, but nor was it quite a real one. It sounded hysterical, like he was at the end of his rope.

'You don't know? Yet you expect  _me_ to?'

Bowser showed his teeth. He felt annoyed, defensive – why was it so hard to express himself? Never before had he needed to talk about his  _feelings_ with anyone, or particularly wanted to. Sometimes Kamek or another longtime minion would try to worm their way into the King's mind, but none had yet succeeded. He didn't know how to put all of his swirling, conflicting feelings into words that others could understand. But for the first time in his life, he wanted to try.

'At first I just wanted to use you as a hostage,' he said at last, which again, was the truth. Luigi's eyebrow went up disbelievingly. 'But then... I guess... I don't know...' In a sudden bout of frustration, the King gripped a handful of his flame-red hair. 'Aargh! Why don't I understand?!'

'Weeeell,' said Luigi slowly, 'what are you going to do now? I'm not going back. Not by choice, at least... I don't want to go back to a place where I'm not needed.'

Bowser stopped tugging on his hair and stared at him, one fist still clenched in the coarse red strands. 'Oh yeah? You're not needed here either,  _pipsqueak._ I say you should get the hell out before I decide to just kill you. I can't use you as a hostage anymore, and I'm not wasting more food on you.'

'I can be useful,' Luigi shot back. 'Give me something to do, and I'll do it.'

Bowser quietly observed the young man who, until recently, had been his prisoner (and in a way still was). Luigi was tall and thin – though dwarfed by Bowser himself – and didn't have an ounce of muscle on his frame. It was obvious that he didn't do as much physical activity as Mario. The fact that he was still awkwardly balancing on his cane didn't exactly help his case either.

He barked out a short laugh. 'Yeah, right,' he scoffed. 'You're definitely going to be of great help to me.'

Luigi scowled at him, readjusting his cane in an attempt to get more comfortable – he'd been standing up for too long. 'I'll prove it,' he said, almost childishly.

'How?'

'I told you; give me something to do. I'll work here, in your castle. I-I'll prove that I can be good at something. Good at  _anything.'_

Bowser wanted to claw his hair out. How had this  _weakling_ suddenly become such a major part of his life? Ever since he'd captured Luigi, he'd found himself facing a riot of strange thoughts that he had never expected to have and couldn't begin to explain. He should have killed Luigi (or at least had him thrown out of the castle) the instant he was no longer a viable hostage. And yet he hadn't. Instead, he had stalled, giving Princess Peach three days to change her mind in the hopes that she'd decide to give up her kingdom for Luigi after all. He'd told himself that it was all part of the plan.

It wasn't. Even he couldn't deny it anymore. He had kept Luigi around, not to be a hostage, but for some other reason. Why?

 _Dammit,_ he thought.  _I really need to sit down with Kamek and have a long talk about this. He probably understands better than I do._

He became aware that Luigi was staring at him curiously and a bit worriedly – probably wondering why the usually loudmouthed King had been silent for so long.

In an instant, he came to a decision. It was a decision based purely on instinct – Bowser was not known for his thinking skills – and he spent no time contemplating all the possible consequences of it. He just did it.

'Come with me,' he said as he turned to open the door.

'Where are we going  _now?'_ said Luigi, though he followed without hesitation, seeming glad just to be getting out of this room.

'Minions' training room. I gotta find out what you're good at if you wanna be a real part of my army.'


	11. More Than a Villain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in updating. This story has been finished and fully posted over on FFN for a while, but I forgot to also update it here. I'm posting the remaining chapters now!

While walking Luigi to the training room, Bowser had found himself unceremoniously pulled aside by Kamek (who had, just as he expected, been listening at the door) and asked, in no uncertain terms, to explain exactly what was going on. At first he scoffed and told the magikoopa to mind his own business, but in the end his resistance had crumbled away to nothing.

Kamek had suspected – for some time now – that the King was at a loss, not knowing what to do about his 'prisoner'. After forty years of serving Bowser, it wasn't difficult for him to read the temperamental King's moods, and he'd gotten quite good at responding to them. Often, it fell upon Kamek to ease Bowser out of his worst tantrums, to stop him from destroying the entire Mushroom Kingdom out of sheer frustration.

Thus, it didn't surprise Bowser when Kamek informed him that, eavesdropping or not, he already knew what was going on. What  _did_ surprise him was that Kamek seemed perfectly OK with it.

'As long as you're certain of his honesty, my lord,' the magikoopa said with a little shrug, 'and you know he's not going to backstab us... Well, any new addition to this army is a good thing in my book.'

He even healed Luigi's leg, mending it completely with a casual flick of his wand, leaving the green-capped man looking dumbstruck. He then set his cane down and tentatively tried to walk, his eyes lighting up when he realised he could.

By that point, Bowser was starting to get impatient. He ushered Luigi inside the training room and called over a young Hammer Bro who wasn't too far from Luigi's height and build. Then he stood back against the wall and observed the pair as they fought, taking note of his former prisoner's skills and weaknesses. Luigi was fast, and a much better jumper than his brother, but he lacked Mario's raw strength and finesse. Well, more training would soon fix those problems.

At first, Luigi was clearly hesitant and unwilling to fight. Bowser had chosen his opponent well, though. The young Hammer Bro was enthusiastic but not at all aggressive, playfully baiting the young man into attacking him until eventually even Luigi's patience had burned out and he fought back. As soon as he realised that no-one was really going to get hurt, he threw himself into the battle with a ferocity that surprised Bowser. It was almost as if he were venting all his accumulated frustrations from over the past couple of days.

When he sensed that Luigi was beginning to get exhausted, Bowser called the fight to a halt and beckoned for him to come outside. As they walked out the door, the young Hammer Bro waved them off cheerfully before going to train with some other minions.

'So, h-how'd I do?' said Luigi, looking up at him curiously. He had removed his cap sometime during the fight when he noticed his hair starting to become damp with sweat underneath it. He was now holding the cap protectively against his chest, his hands no longer encumbered by a cane.

Bowser shrugged. 'OK, I guess.' In reality, he thought that Luigi had done pretty well, but he certainly wasn't going to start lavishing the guy with praise. Stars help him, but he didn't need Luigi developing an ego as big as Mario's. Or his own.

Luigi hummed in acknowledgement; he didn't seem offended. 'So what exactly am I gonna be doing?'

'I'll decide the details later,' Bowser growled. 'You're still pretty weak compared to my troops... but maybe if you work hard, you'll be able to join us the next time we invade Peach's kingdom...'

At that, Luigi paled and fell silent. It was obvious that, even though he'd basically turned his back on the Mushroom Kingdom and his old friends on account of the fact that none of them really wanted him, he still wasn't keen on the idea of causing trouble for them. Bowser just rolled his eyes and said nothing. He was sure that Luigi would settle into his new role soon enough. It wasn't like he had anything else to do around here.

Just then, he stopped, gazing around the corridors with a frown. He'd been mindlessly leading Luigi back towards the dungeon, without realising that there was no need for him to be there anymore. 'Huh...' he muttered, causing the young man to look up at him with a hint of surprise.

'What now?'

'I guess I have to give you an actual room,' Bowser grunted. Without elaborating, he turned and began to lead them along a different corridor, one which ended at the foot of a very long staircase. As they climbed up, he found himself grateful that Kamek had healed Luigi's broken leg; he certainly wouldn't have been willing to carry the guy all the way up the stairs.

'Um... where do the rest of your... minions sleep?'

 _He probably thinks everyone sleeps in one big room or something,_ Bowser thought, not sure whether to be more amused or exasperated. 'There's dorms,' he said shortly. 'Like... twenty dorms? I dunno. There's usually ten or so troops sharing one room. But forget about that, you can have your own room.'

To say Luigi looked surprised was an understatement; he tripped on his own feet and almost fell. 'Uhm, why?' he faltered.

Bowser snorted. 'You do realise that you were an enemy until a few hours ago, right? Sure, Kamek might be OK with you, and that guy in the training room... and Kortimer, I guess... but not everyone's gonna welcome you with open arms.'

Luigi made a very small 'oh' noise and kept walking. Bowser didn't miss the quick glance he threw over his shoulder to check that no-one was following them.

The King led him to a plain wooden door, which he unceremoniously kicked open to reveal a small, unadorned bedroom. There was a window that overlooked the rear side of the castle and the fiery mountains on the horizon, a bed with pale-blue covers, and a large cabinet for storing possessions. He glanced down and was gratified to see Luigi nodding and smiling faintly with approval.

'Don't go wandering around in the castle at night,' he said, looking straight into Luigi's eyes to make it clear that he wasn't joking. He didn't know for  _sure_ that any of his troops would try to harm Luigi if they encountered him, but considering he'd been a hostage – and enemy – only a few hours ago, it was a possibility. Bowser didn't relish the idea of Luigi getting killed or seriously injured, though he didn't know why. Maybe it was just because he knew the young man could be useful to him – and like Kamek had said, any new addition to the army was a good thing.

The next three days seemed to go by in a strange blur of mixed feelings, tough training and far too many thoughts swirling around Bowser's head.

He found himself beginning to actually enjoy Luigi's company. It happened so slowly that he didn't notice at first, until Kamek innocently mentioned 'how much time you've been spending with him lately'. Bowser had roared in the magikoopa's face, but later realised that Kamek had a point. He'd begun to actively seek out Luigi's presence, making excuses to drag him off for a training match or a quiet meal. He often approached Luigi to mock and insult him, but it was only because he enjoyed talking with him – not that he'd ever admit it.

And Luigi was rapidly changing as well. Gone was the shy, hesitant weakling who'd spent his life in his brother's shadow. He was confident, energetic, even  _witty._  Whenever Bowser came stomping towards him for another round of insults, he just smiled and listened without a single protest. It was almost as if he enjoyed the company as much as Bowser himself did.

'Well, my King,' said Kamek when Bowser mentioned this to him, 'he's likely spent his life being coddled and looked after by other people. I don't imagine he's ever been around someone as... er...  _temperamental_  as yourself before. Perhaps that's all he needs for his true personality to emerge; someone to bicker and banter with.'

On the evening of the third day, Bowser was lurching along a corridor (not with any destination in mind – he just felt like walking) and nearly collided with Luigi, who was running too fast in the opposite direction.

'Watch it, Green!' he snarled.

'Eheh, sorry...' said Luigi sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. He didn't look scared, though. He'd stopped looking scared in the King's presence a long time ago, leaving Bowser to wonder just how much he'd lost his touch. 'I-I was actually just looking for you.'

'What?' Bowser blinked stupidly at that. 'Why?'

'Weeeell, I was walking back from the training room earlier, and one of your Koopas came up to me and said something like... 'take this message to Lord Bowser'.' He held out his hand to show a rolled-up sheet of paper clenched in his fist, held together by a simple red ribbon. 'I think it might be from – from the Princess. I remember that she used red ribbons on her letters sometimes...'

Bowser snatched up the letter almost before Luigi had finished speaking. Tearing the ribbon with a claw, he unrolled it and had scanned the contents in a couple of seconds. A sliver of disappointment curled in his gut; not unexpected, but still very much unwanted.

'Well,' he said, shredding the paper carelessly and tossing it aside, 'I guess that's the end of this 'big plan'.'

Luigi tilted his head curiously. 'Did she say...?'

'She refused my demands. Again!' Bowser resisted the urge to stamp a foot on the floor. As satisfying as that would've been, he knew it would have made him look childish. 'I can't believe her!'

'To be fair, Daisy is already rescued,' said Luigi reasonably. 'So you, eh, don't really have anything to bargain with... except me. And I don't count.'

Bowser just snorted. He'd already learned that Peach wouldn't give up her kingdom for Luigi, and her second letter hadn't been news to him. But that knowledge didn't make the bitter taste on his tongue go away. 'Yeah, apparently not.' He looked at the torn-up pieces of the letter on the floor, then turned and began to walk away with an air of finality. Luigi hurried up alongside him. Even though Bowser was massive, he was far from being quick-footed and Luigi had no trouble keeping up with his strides.

'So, how'd the training go?' the King asked as they walked through the castle. Not that he really cared about the answer – he just wanted to take his mind off his most recent failure to take over the Mushroom Kingdom.

Luigi's face lit up. 'Great!' he said happily. 'I finally managed to beat Harry without using any power-ups!' Harry was the name of the young Hammer Bro who had sparred with him on his first day in the training room. 'He said... oh, what did he say? ...He said I have the makings of a true fighter.'

Bowser couldn't stop a pleased smirk from curving up his mouth at how exuberant Luigi sounded. His frustration at Peach's letter was quickly melting away, to be replaced by a quiet – yes,  _quiet!_ \- sense of pride at seeing his new charge's accomplishments. Maybe these last few days hadn't been a complete failure after all; he had Luigi, who was quickly proving to be a worthy minion. It almost made everything else worthwhile.

However, Bowser was a man of simple words, and so the waterfall of gleeful praise that wanted to leave his throat never came.

'Good,' he said gruffly, and without thinking he clapped Luigi on the shoulder just like he would with any other loyal minion. Luigi – being slighter than most Koopas – stumbled forwards a little, but he caught his balance and craned his head back to look at Bowser directly, a small smile on his face.

'Thanks,' he said. 'Um... hey, Bowser? I'm really happy you let me stay here. It's been great. R-really. I feel like I've... accomplished so much more than I ever did back home.'

'Yeah, yeah, don't get all slushy on me now,' said Bowser, rolling his eyes. 'Just keep up your training so you can actually be useful the next time we invade someplace.'

The old Luigi would have flinched and cowered away at his rough tone, not hearing the faint note of affection buried at the bottom of it. And the old Bowser wouldn't have even  _had_ such a note of affection in his voice. But things were different now, and neither of them could deny that the change was for the better. Luigi just looked away, grinning, and Bowser huffed in mock exasperation, knowing – and surprisingly not caring – that nothing he said or did would ever scare him again.


	12. Breaking and Entering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daisy's POV on this one.

'Are you sure this is a good idea?' Daisy hissed under her breath as she crouched down inside an ancient, damp-smelling pipe. It wasn't a Warp Pipe, unfortunately; just a big metal tube that went underneath Bowser's castle.

Mario nodded firmly. 'I'm sure! According to the maps I studied, this pipe should come out somewhere near the dungeon. I have no clue what it was originally built for, but it's probably not being used for anything now.'

'And what if Bowser's had the other end, I don't know, sealed shut or something? This  _is_ an old castle.'

'Then we'll smash through it,' said Mario.

Daisy gazed over at him in the semidarkness and found herself impressed – and a little surprised – by the determination written in his face and posture. He'd taken Luigi's rescue seriously. The moment they'd gotten back to Peach's castle, they had started secretly plotting ways in which they might sneak into Bowser's dungeon unnoticed, using old texts and maps in an effort to find some unknown passageway. They'd been forced to keep their activities a secret from Peach, since she would have forbidden them from doing something so dangerous had she known about it.

No, this was a mission that only they could know about.

Despite all their hard work – hours every day spent gathering information – it had taken three whole days before Mario's sudden yelp of excitement told Daisy that he'd finally found something. While reading about the construction of Bowser's castle, he had discovered rumours of a hidden pipe with an entrance outside the castle that led all the way into the dungeon itself. Upon arriving in that area, he and Daisy had managed to uncover the pipe, half-buried under dead foliage and shattered boulders.

Their excitement at having found a passageway didn't last long. As they eased themselves into the dark, narrow space, Daisy found herself not feeling much of anything except a nervous energy. What were they going to find when got inside? An empty dungeon? A dead body? Or would they be found by Bowser himself and be killed or captured before they even learned if Luigi was still alive?

She took a deep breath and started crawling, determined to push such thoughts out of her mind. They wouldn't help and were only making her anxious. Behind her, Mario also started to move, his hands and feet making a louder noise than hers against the metal pipe interior.

The passage was supposedly almost half a mile long – something which Daisy soon discovered to be true. They had been crawling for over an hour when Mario tapped her shoe to make her stop, reaching up with a shaky hand to wipe his brow. Even though it was too dark to see his expression, Daisy could smell the distinct odour of sweat in the confined space.

'Are you OK?' she asked, quietly enough that her voice wouldn't echo.

'Y-yeah,' he replied, taking off his cap and raking his fingers through his hair. He didn't sound very relaxed. Not that Daisy was either – but at least she was calm. An idea came into her head.

'Are you claustrophobic?' she said curiously.

Mario was silent for a moment. '...A little,' he said at last. 'It's not bad at all, really. Just... sometimes I look around and it occurs to me how  _narrow_  this pipe is, and how long we've been going, and is there even an  _end_ to it?'

Daisy reached back and patted his arm as best as she could. In doing so, she realised Mario was right – the pipe was so thin that there wasn't even enough space to turn around. There was no way they could go back, unless they crawled backwards the entire way, and that would be even slower than crawling forwards.

'Don't worry about it,' she said, trying to sound comforting. However, it was hard to sit around like this and comfort Mario when her mind was filled with images of what might be happening to Luigi right now. 'Come on, let's keep going. We can't be far away now. In fact, I'm pretty sure we're already inside Bowser's castle.'

Mario wiped his mouth and replaced his cap back on his head. 'Really?' he said. 'How can you know?'

Daisy actually  _didn't_ know; she'd just been trying to make him feel better. 'Oh, just a feeling I have,' she said airily. Then she continued to crawl forwards, leaving him with no choice but to scramble after her.

Luckily, Daisy had been right. After only ten more minutes of crawling, she suddenly stopped and let out a startled exclamation.

'What? What is it?' Mario demanded.

The pipe had come to an end. The last few feet of it curved upwards to make the exit vertical, and when Daisy stretched up a hand, she felt a rough pane of wood blocking the way out of the pipe.

'It's sealed, like I said,' she whispered. 'But it only seems to be a bit of wood – I'm sure we can break it.'

Mario nodded. He started to move forwards, knowing that he was much stronger than her and would be able to break them out easily, but then stopped with a grunt of frustration as he remembered that the pipe was too narrow for them to pass each other. 'Uh, you'll have to do it,' he said.

'Not a problem.' Pulling back a fist, Daisy unflinchingly punched the wood with all the strength she could muster. A horrible creaking, splintering noise rent the air, and the faintest hint of firelight began to filter down into the pipe.

_'Daisy!'_

'What?' she said calmly. 'C'mon, I'm not spending another second in here.' Reaching up, she gripped the edges of the pipe and hauled herself up into the room beyond. One glance told her that they'd arrived in the right place. Bowser's dark, smelly dungeon with its stone walls and floors was unmistakable to anyone who had spent a night sleeping in it. Near the door, a single wall torch with a flickering flame was casting a weak glow across the room.

She expected someone to have let out an exclamation when the pipe burst open, but the dungeon was ominously silent.  _Where is he?_ she thought, trying to force down the sick, worried feeling rising into her chest.

Just then, Mario emerged from the pipe with a gasp of breath, looking relieved to be out. 'Daisy,' he said firmly, 'give me your hand.'

'What?' This time she said it in a tone of confusion. She lifted her right hand, the one she'd used to punch the wood, and was momentarily shocked to see blood and splinters. Mario grabbed her wrist and began to clean away the blood with a white handkerchief that he'd pulled from somewhere.

'You could have really hurt yourself,' he protested.

She shrugged. 'So? There was no other way to do it. And right now I'm more concerned about Luigi. Why isn't he in here, Mario?'

He let his gaze wander the dungeon. 'I don't know,' he said, sounding was worried but trying to hide it. 'But just because he's not here doesn't mean he's not... anywhere. You mentioned that Bowser sometimes took him out of his cell, didn't you?'

Some of the sick feeling faded, tempered by relief. It wasn't much, but it was something to hope for. 'All right then, we'd better go out and look for him,' she said decisively.

'Wouldn't it be better to hide in here? He'll bring Luigi back eventually, won't he?'

Daisy privately thought that this was probably the best idea, but she shook her head stubbornly. 'I'm worried about him. I just feel like something's wrong and we need to go and find him as quickly as possible.'

Mario sighed. 'OK,' he said. 'We'll go out. But stay behind me, all right?'

'Gotcha.'

Creeping like thieves, the two of them walked over to the dungeon door and – following a nod from Daisy and a powerful kick from Mario – burst out onto the stairs beyond.


	13. Please Come Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some Italian dialogue in this, which was taken from Google Translate, as with all my stories that include anything Italian. I don't speak it at all, I only know a few words.

Luigi stood at the top of the stairs, peering down into the darkness. He was nervous, not that he intended to show it. His past days of training had taught him that showing fear usually didn't help him at all; if anything, it gave his enemies a bigger advantage.

A few minutes ago, he'd heard a noise inside the dungeon – a horrific crash, as though someone had just kicked a wall down. He was fairly certain that that  _wasn't_ what had happened, but the noise had still been incredibly loud and he  _knew_ it must have been a living thing that made it. A part of him wanted to run through the corridors until he spotted Kamek or Bowser and ask them for help, but they were both busy. Bowser was locked up in his room plotting ways in which he might take over the Mushroom Kingdom, and Kamek... well, since Luigi hadn't seen him recently he had to assume the magikoopa was busy.

Taking a deep breath, he lowered one foot onto the stairs.

And that was when the dungeon door burst open.

Despite all his training, Luigi hadn't gotten into any real fights yet, nor had he seen any real enemies inside the castle. Now, hearing the door crash against the wall and seeing two figures emerging from the dark dungeon, he reacted without thinking. Instead of trying to flee, he let out a screaming battle-cry and threw himself down the stairs to tackle the smaller figure to the ground.

A startled yell burst from the figure's throat, and for a second Luigi thought that he recognised the voice. But his frantic mind wouldn't give him time to consider it. As soon as they hit the floor, he sprung backwards – leaping away from the fallen figure – and spun around in time to deliver a fast punch to the other one.

The second person didn't go down so easily, though. In a lightning movement, she grabbed hold of his wrist, stopping it in mid-swing. While holding him, she struck out with her foot. Luigi felt it connect with his shin, sending an explosion of pain all the way up his leg. Yelping, he hopped backwards on one leg and nearly tripped on the stairs behind him. He hadn't realised this space was so small.

'Get him for me, Daisy!' groaned the man on the floor, trying to stand up without much success. Immediately, Luigi felt himself freeze. That name... surely it couldn't really be-

 _'Luigi!'_ Daisy exclaimed, moving forwards as if to grab him. Her expression was radiant with relief, joy, shock, fear, and so many other emotions that he couldn't hope to decipher them all in one brief moment. He realised that, because of the darkness and his own senseless panic, he hadn't recognised the two people he was mindlessly attacking. Now he looked at them both and saw them for who they really were.

Mario was slumped against the dungeon door, trying to pull himself upright. He seemed to have hit his head quite hard and was still disorientated. Daisy was standing motionless, frozen in the act of running towards Luigi, one hand outstretched. She didn't have that strange myriad of emotions on her face anymore. He looked at her and couldn't see any emotion at all.

If she had arrived three days earlier, Luigi might have immediately thrown himself into her waiting arms and let her hold him while he sobbed incoherently and told her how much he had missed her. Then he might have forgiven Mario for abandoning him, and the three of them would have all gone home together.

But so much time spent living here, training as one of Bowser's minions, socialising with the minions themselves, and growing to learn that Bowser wasn't quite as much of a villain as he'd always believed, had changed him. He could feel it now – and the longer he stared at Daisy, the stronger those feelings became.

She loved him. Of that he had no doubt. But if he accompanied her home, then what would happen to him? Sure, he'd be with her again, but he would have no purpose. He would be a nobody for the rest of his life.

Here in Bowser's castle, he'd grown stronger. He had accomplished things he never believed possible.

He was making a choice between his love or his life.  _Oh, why does the universe like playing games with me?_

He felt a strained smile curve up his mouth. 'Hey, Daisy,' he said quietly. 'How did you get in here?'

Her face fell slightly. She'd obviously been hoping for a more enthusiastic greeting, but she took it in stride.

'We discovered an old pipe that goes from outside the castle to inside the dungeon,' she said matter-of-factly. 'We'd been looking for a secret passageway into this place, and eventually we found that pipe. It did take much longer than I expected, though... sorry about that.'

Luigi shook his head vigorously. 'N-no, don't be sorry!' He could see that neither of them had slept properly for a long time. 'I-I know you tried really hard, and... I'm grateful for that. That's why it's gonna be hard... for all your work to go to waste.'

Before either of them could do more than stare at him in confusion, he executed an impressive jump backwards, landing at the top of the stone stairs. Daisy made an involuntary movement as if to follow him.

'No, Daisy,' he said, giving her a sad smile. He felt like his heart was breaking with every word he spoke, but he knew it was for the best. For him – because he could never live a fulfilling life in the Mushroom Kingdom – and for her, too. Because she didn't deserve someone who was always yearning for something more. 'I'm not going back with you.'

Daisy's mouth dropped open, while Mario just looked thunderous.

'Luigi!' he yelled out. 'What are you  _talking_ about?! You've been  _kidnapped!_ Bowser's been holding you hostage here, as a prisoner, and you want to  _stay?'_

'I'm not a prisoner anymore,' he replied, and – as quickly as possible – he recounted the events of the last three days to them. Just as he was finishing, he heard heavy footsteps crashing along a nearby corridor, accompanied by urgent voices. Two of them, one deep and powerful, the other soft and reedy.

'This is insane, Weegee!' said Daisy. 'You  _can't_ be serious about this. Listen...' She was talking quickly now; perhaps she'd also heard the footsteps. 'I know how you feel about things back home. But after today, I promise those things will never be the same again. You don't know how many people are talking about you! Mario and I spread rumours that you willingly stayed behind so Mario could save Peach, which obviously isn't true – but now everyone's calling you a hero! If you go back home now, you'll be loved by the people, just like Mario is.'

Luigi listened hopefully, but when she finished he shook his head. 'Sorry. I can't do that. I don't want to be famous because of a rumour – it's not right. If I'm gonna be famous at all, I wanna be famous for something I've actually done.' He gazed down at her, willing her to understand. 'Besides, I don't need fame. I just want to  _be_ someone – someone more than just Mario's little brother. Here, with Bowser, I  _can_ be someone.'

'Luigi, he's going to attack the Mushroom Kingdom again someday!' Daisy said. 'Are you really going to help him destroy everything? Kill or capture everyone? Are you going to help him destroy  _me,_ and Mario, and Peach?'

A shudder ran down his spine. 'N-no. I mean – I don't know yet. I don't want to help him do those things. But maybe if I stay here, I can talk him out of it. I can make him a better person...'

Before Daisy or Mario could respond, a crash rent the air and a resonant voice echoed throughout the room, sounding like a thunderclap.

'Wishful thinking, pipsqueak! Now get outta the way so I can  _finish_  these losers!'

Luigi didn't turn around. A few days ago, hearing that voice would have probably made him fall over. But he'd gotten used to it now. Mario and Peach watched from the bottom of the stairs with identical expressions of surprise and horror.

Bowser slowly walked forwards, positioning himself directly beside Luigi and placing a clawed hand on his shoulder. Smirking, he gazed down the stairs. 'Well, who do we have here? A couple of idiots who thought breaking into my castle was a good idea, that's who!' He roared, smoke pouring from his nostrils. Mario and Daisy both flinched.

'Go!' Luigi said, staring pleadingly into Daisy's eyes. 'You came in through a pipe, right? Go back in the pipe and get home! Now!' To his surprise, Bowser didn't even move. He could have easily jumped down the stairs and crushed his two opponents, but instead he stayed where he was, looking at them expectantly. His smirk was slowly shifting into a fully-fledged grin.

'We're not leaving 'till you come down here,' said Mario flatly. Daisy nodded in agreement.

Bowser snorted. 'What a touching scene. I think I'm gonna cry,' he said sarcastically. 'Go on then, Green. Who do you choose?'

Luigi blinked, looking back and forth between Daisy and the Koopa King. 'Wh – what do you mean?'

'Choose!' Bowser growled. 'I'm gonna give your friends a fighting chance. If they can convince you to go with them, then I'll let you go.'

'I'm not leaving,' said Luigi. He didn't know what to feel anymore. The last thing he had expected was for Bowser to show up and start messing with his head, forcing him to reconsider his decision. He knew  _why_ he was doing it. He was testing Luigi's loyalty, wanting to know if he would stay here even when an easy way out was presented to him.

Luigi wasn't going to take it.

'I told you,' he said, looking at Daisy. 'Here, I can be someone great. Someone who  _means_ something to other people. At home, I'm nothing. Just Mario's  _shadow.'_ He tried hard to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. For the first time since he could remember, she looked close to tears. 'You mean something to  _me,'_ she said quietly.

'And me!' said Mario, pointing at himself. 'I'll never forgive myself if you choose to stay here because of what I did, bro.' All of a sudden his aggressiveness melted away, and for a moment he looked as vulnerable as Daisy. As vulnerable as Luigi himself felt. 'Never,' he vowed. 'I'll hate what I did for the rest of my life.' And then, as if to further prove his sincerity, he repeated the last sentence in Italian. 'Odierò quello che ho fatto per il resto della mia vita.'

Luigi deliberately looked away from them both, because he knew he'd start to crack if he didn't. Perhaps sensing this, Bowser curled his hand so that the short claws dug into Luigi's shoulder, making him wince and suck in a quick breath, his mind racing.

 _I can't do this!_ he thought.  _If I do, then I'll never see Daisy again... or Bowser might make me hurt her. I can't let that happen..._

'Just come down here, bro,' said Mario. Like Bowser, he seemed to realise that Luigi's resistance was breaking down. 'I  _swear_ I won't let you be forgotten by everyone again! From now on you'll get all the recognition you deserve!'

Daisy glanced at him, then back at Luigi. 'I don't think you understand completely, Mario,' she said softly. 'He doesn't want fame; he doesn't want popularity. He just wants to do something great with his life. Something big.'

'Something I'll be remembered for when I'm gone,' Luigi interjected, without being able to stop himself. He cringed when he felt Bowser's claws sinking deeper into his flesh.

Daisy nodded in understanding. 'And I promise I can help you get that. I'm not trying to make you come back for my own gain. I want you to come back because it's the best thing  _for you._ Weegee,' she said, her voice dropping almost to a whisper, 'you won't be happy here. You're going to be forced to invade your own kingdom, hurt your own friends and family, and go against everything that makes you the person you are. You're gentle, Luigi. You're not meant to cause destruction; you're meant to be kind and sweet and helpful.'

By the time she finished, Luigi had his head lowered, eyes closed, barely able to hear her over the thumping of his heartbeat in his ears. Bowser, Mario, and everything else had fallen away to nothing. All he could feel was himself and Daisy's presence, and he could feel how strongly she wanted him to come back. He knew that she was dying to run up the stairs and fight off Bowser to save him, even if she had to do it alone. She was desperate for him to return, but she wouldn't make it obvious. She wanted him to make the decision for himself, without being influenced by  _her_ emotions.

He also knew that, if he truly decided to stay with Bowser – and he said it without a hint of doubt in his voice – then she would accept it. She might not be happy, but she would respect his decision.

Mario probably wouldn't take it so easily – but at that moment he wasn't even thinking about Mario. Only Daisy's words meant anything now.

_I have to trust her. Trust that she means what she's saying, that she's not going to let things be the way they used to be. I have to. I love her – more than anyone or anything else._

He took one step forwards.

And all hell broke loose.


	14. The King's Fury

In the years to follow, Bowser would never know exactly what prompted him to do what he did next. He would furiously berate himself for it – not because it was cruel, not because it was reckless, but because it showed such a lack of restraint. It showed that he was unable to calmly follow through with his promises like a true King should. And that made him, the King of Koopas, look weak.

With a bellowing roar, he curled an arm around Luigi and yanked him against his side. At the same time, he swiped his other hand through the air, claws flashing in the dim light; an unmistakable signal to attack.

Before anyone could do more than gasp, koopatrols came pouring out of the doorway behind him. They filed inside the room in long lines, and behind them came Hammer Bros, Koopas, and magikoopas. Within the span of ten seconds the room above the dungeon was filled end to end with troops. Kamek (who nobody had seen entering the room alongside Bowser) waved his wand in a dramatic gesture.

'Ha ha! I bet you thought this would be easy, wouldn't you?' he wheezed. 'Well, think again! The great Lord Bowser  _never_ gives up what's rightfully his without a fight, you-'

'Rightfully his?!' Daisy exclaimed.

Bowser, who had been thrown off-guard by Kamek's speech but quickly pulled himself back together, grinned toothily. 'He's right, princess! Did you really think I was gonna just  _hand over_ Luigi to you? You must be even more gullible than I thought!'

'He lied to us!' Mario yelled, too angry to realise that he was stating the obvious. He pointed an accusing finger at Bowser. 'Get him!'

He took a step forwads, then halted. Daisy had seized his arm to hold him back. Bowser, who felt his vindictive fury rising with every word they spoke, snorted out a cruel laugh at the pair.

'You can't do a thing,' he said. 'Luigi's my minion now, and he's gonna help me take over your pathetic kingdom someday.' Luigi, who was still trapped against his side, seemed to be frozen in fear.

'He's not interested in helping you!' said Daisy. 'He said so himself. Right, Luigi?'

Luigi didn't even make a noise. Bowser glanced down at him, his grin faltering the tiniest bit as unexpected guilt stabbed through him. He could no longer deny that in the last few days he'd grown accustomed – even attached – to Luigi's presence. The two of them had spent so much time together, talking and training and exchanging jabs, that it was impossible not to be. He had been stupid, letting himself grow fond of something that could be taken away from him at any moment. He'd always known that Daisy might come back to save her precious boyfriend even if no-one else did, yet he'd stubbornly refused to acknowledge this danger.

And now, here he was.

'Shall I dispose of them, my lord?' Kamek said, his reedy voice high with excitement.

Bowser blinked and looked down. He sneered derisively upon seeing Mario and Daisy in exactly the same place as before.  _Weaklings... did they REALLY think they had a chance at getting Luigi back? Against me and all my troops? Talk about a suicide mission!_

Raising a clawed hand, he brought it slashing down again. 'Get them out of my castle!' he roared. 'Or just kill them, I don't care.' He then sidestepped away from the top of the stairs, giving his soldiers a clear path down them.

And that was when Luigi suddenly came back to life. 'L-leave them alone!' he protested, trying unsuccessfully to squirm out of Bowser's hold. 'They haven't done anything. Just let them go, please.'

The King growled and released him with a shove, nearly making him fall over. 'Not happening, Green! Not when the idiots are trespassing on  _my_ castle!'

Luigi caught himself, gazed down the stone stairs and gave Daisy a pleading look. 'Just go!' he said. 'Grab Mario and get out of here. I'll be fine.'

'I'm not leaving without you, that's what we came here for-' Daisy began.

'GO! I'll be OK here. You won't be if you don't leave  _now!'_

Bowser watched with vague interest as his koopatrols stormed forwards, roughly pushing Luigi out of the way before marching down the stone steps. He stumbled and fell heavily onto the stone floor. Meanwhile, a frantic yell accompanied by a slamming door told Bowser that his two enemies had just fled into the dungeon. A moment later, repeated thumping of metal fists against wood told him that the koopatrols were attempting to break down the door, which – he assumed – was being held shut by Mario and Daisy.

_I can do it, easy,_ he thought. But before he could stomp down the stairs and help them, Luigi scrambled upright and stepped in front of him, making him pause. Not that Bowser wasn't capable of throwing Luigi aside like a rag doll – he was just surprised that the young man had the guts to try and stop him.

Nonetheless, he bared his teeth. 'You'd better step out the way now, pipsqueak,' he growled. 'I can't promise I won't hurt you if you don't...'

'Then hurt me,' he retorted. His posture was tense, angry, but the only thing showing in his eyes was desperation. 'You'll have to if you want me to move. I won't let you hurt my friends.'

Bowser roared in his face, but he barely flinched. 'You idiot! Have you already forgotten that you're  _my_ minion now, and what I say  _goes?'_

Luigi just gazed at him, calmly and a little sadly. 'I stayed here because I chose to,' he said, 'and I never agreed to help you kill Mario and Daisy, or – or kidnap Peach.'

'Then what good are you to me?!'

Deep down, beneath all the mounting rage and shock, he was aware that he was fighting a losing battle. He had been stupid to think that Luigi would willingly stay with him when his own brother – and girlfriend – were in mortal danger.

He played his final card. 'They don't care about you,' he said scornfully. 'You said it yourself. Nobody in the Mushroom Kingdom really cares. You're just Mario's weakling of a brother. Living in his shadow. You're  _nothing_ to them!'

To his surprise, Luigi didn't shrink away, but instead lifted his head and looked the King straight in the eyes. There was a veiled fire in those blue orbs that he had never seen before. 'That's not true,' he said clearly. 'I – I know better now. Daisy cares about me, even if no-one else does. And I can't leave her forever... no matter what.'

Bowser could hear the resolution in Luigi's voice. He could see it in his face. And he knew without a doubt that this was over. He had no hold over Luigi anymore. What shocked him most was that, besides fury, the strongest emotions he felt were hurt and betrayal, and he wasn't used to feeling either.

'Then you're a traitor to my army,' he snarled. Drawing breath deep into his lungs, he prepared to blast the entire room with flames and kill everyone besides himself. He was so angry that he no longer cared what happened to anyone else; he didn't care about anything.

But in his rage, he had forgotten all about the battle training he'd given Luigi. He had spent three days helping the young man to become a veritable warrior, teaching him tricks and manoeuvres that nobody but the King himself knew. He had forgotten that Luigi wasn't the weak-willed, hesitating person he'd been before.

As soon as Luigi saw Bowser's jaws open, he executed a huge jump, flipping over the King's head and landing perfectly behind him. Bowser started to turn around, cursing his heavy body for being so slow. Before he could get there, Luigi stamped hard on his tail, sending an unexpected jolt of pain all the way up his spine and forcing an undignified yelp out of his throat.

Luigi must have known he didn't have the raw strength to throw Bowser around like his brother could. Instead, he was relying on his speed and skill to overwhelm him, darting around Bowser's clumsy swipes to deliver quick blows that, slowly but surely, were wearing the King down.

He groaned and shook his head to clear it.  _He's using everything I taught him to beat me,_ he thought.  _If only I hadn't been such an idiot. If only I'd realised this was going to happen..._

'My lord!' shouted Kamek, snapping him out of his musings. 'Pay attention!'

An open-handed strike connected with his nose, hard enough to break some of the bone inside. Blood started trickling from his nostrils. With a scream of rage, he threw himself forwards in an attempt to crush Luigi with his sheer size, knowing he'd never be fast enough.

Luigi sprung out of the way, dived behind him, and kicked the back of his leg. In his already overbalanced state, it was enough to send him crashing to the floor. Dazed and in pain, he managed to lift his head just enough to watch Luigi scurrying down the steps towards the dungeon. It was only then that he realised the hammering on the door had ceased.

'My lord!' Kamek had jumped off his broomstick and was leaning over him, looking worried. 'They're escaping! Shall I go after them? There's still time; if you want me to get Luigi back and kill his friends, I can-'

Another voice echoed from inside the dungeon, cutting Kamek off. It was the sharp, dutiful voice of a koopatrol. 'They have jumped down a pipe. Should we follow?' A glinting armoured head came into sight as the koopatrol hurried up the stairs and gazed expectantly at his King.

Bowser was still sprawled on his front on the floor. He looked at each of his minions in turn, their voices swimming around in his disorientated mind without making a bit of sense.

'My lord Bowser?' said Kamek anxiously, poking him.

He let his head slump back to the floor. 'No, let them go,' he said, pulling a confused noise from Kamek.

'But – why-'

'I don't want my troops getting stuck in a damned pipe!' he growled. 'And they won't be able to fight properly in such a small space anyway. Just let them go. I don't care anymore.'

'But, my lord... after all the time you spent training Luigi to be your minion...'

'What's the point in getting him back, Kamek? The weakling's already decided he'd rather be with his stupid brother and his annoying little girlfriend.' Bowser spat out the insults easily, taking a savage, vengeful satisfaction from them. 'But as soon as all this mess is cleared up, we're preparing to invade the Mushroom Kingdom again.'

'If you say so, your Highness,' said Kamek, sounding resigned. He flicked his wand, and instantly Bowser felt all his minor injuries healing over. He slowly climbed to his feet. 'Though, if it's not disrespectful of me to say...'

'What, Kamek?'

'Perhaps we should wait a little while before invading again.' The old magikoopa's voice was almost gentle, and Bowser wondered why until he heard Kamek's next words: 'You're not thinking straight right now, my lord. You're understandably furious about what's happened. You know that after the last time you attacked the Mushroom Kingdom, your forces are too depleted to attack again so soon. Too many soldiers are injured... or dead...'

Bowser turned away, watching all the koopatrols emerging from the dungeon in a steady line that seemed to go on forever. Firelight gleaming on identical suits of armour, eyes glinting suspiciously through dark visors. Some of them, he noticed, still bore signs of injury from when he'd used them to help kidnap Peach a few days ago.

_Kamek's right,_ he thought.  _It'd be stupid to attack again now... I'll do it later._ Deep down, he knew that the only reason he  _wanted_ to attack was to vent his own frustration on the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. He wanted to rage and scream and burn things down. He wanted to forget the way he'd allowed himself to trust someone, to grow fond of them, only to have them betray him in the end.

'My lord...' Kamek said hesitantly, putting a hand on the side of his shell. 'You really did... think of him as a friend, didn't you?'

Bowser shook the magikoopa's hand off and began to walk away, following the line of koopatrols. A gruff, bitter chuckle came from his throat, and Kamek tilted his head, a concerned expression forming.

'Yeah,' he said at last. 'I'm pretty sure I did. Isn't that stupid?'

'No,' said Kamek. 'I don't think so. You see, my lord Bowser, you might not like to admit it, but you are a very lonely man. You don't even consider me a friend, and I've been at your side forty years. Perhaps all you ever needed was someone to talk to; someone who isn't afraid of you and who doesn't respect you enough to treat you as a King.'

Bowser remained silent, but he knew – again – that Kamek was right.


	15. Out of Sorts

Bowser felt Kamek's eyes on him constantly over the next few days. It was annoying; he felt like he was a child again and the old magikoopa needed to watch him to make sure he didn't get himself killed accidentally. He had already told Kamek that he didn't need to be monitored; he wasn't going to do anything stupid like sneak off to Peach's castle all on his own. But the magikoopa was worried about him, and the more Bowser thought about it, the more he grudgingly had to admit that it was warranted.

That didn't mean he  _seriously_ intended to go to the Mushroom Kingdom and launch an attack all by himself, but the idea tempted him. He was simmering with frustration and his anger had no outlet, instead feeding back into itself in a deadly circuit. He wanted to fight, to crush some of Peach's pathetic bodyguards and maybe Mario as well.  _Dammit. I'm gonna go crazy if I don't do something soon._

He tried to work off some of his frustration by sparring with his minions, but that idea quickly went out the window after he unintentionally broke a Hammer Bro's arm. He was too strong for them. His temper was running so high that he almost killed Kamek one evening upon realising that the magikoopa had slipped a calming potion into his drink.

'It was for the best, my lord,' Kamek wheezed as he sidestepped the chair Bowser hurled at him. 'You're going to end up hurting yourself if this keeps up.'

'And what am I supposed to do about it?' Bowser roared back. 'I'm  _bored,_ Kamek! I haven't invaded the Mushroom Kingdom in a week and I've got nothing to do except walk around my castle and eat food!'

'Well, sire... walking around your castle and eating food was all you were doing before Luigi came, and you seemed to have no problem with it then.'

Bowser hesitated. Then he slowly placed the second chair he'd been about to throw back on the floor.

'Yeah, you're right,' he said thoughtfully. It didn't make him any happier, but maybe understanding the root of his frustration would help him deal with it. 'I'm bored because I'm used to having the little green weakling around. He might've been an idiot, but at least he provided some entertainment around here.'

'Perhaps you just need to find someone else to spend your time with, sire. After all, you have no real friends here in the castle. At least, none who you consider to be friends.'

Bowser eyed him suspiciously. Since the day Luigi had escaped, Kamek hadn't mentioned anything about friends, likely because he thought that the King might incinerate him if he brought it up. But now that the subject  _had_ been brought up, he found himself more intrigued than annoyed.

He turned back to the dinner table and started nonchalantly chewing on a piece of chicken, mostly to reassure the magikoopa that he wasn't going to incinerate him. 'Is that what you really think I need, Kamek?' he asked with his mouth full. 'A friend?'

Kamek nodded, looking relieved. 'It does seem like a good idea, my lord. I know that you were... attached to Luigi, but he's gone now, and let's face it – there was probably no chance he would have stayed here forever.'

Bowser swallowed the piece of meat and looked at Kamek curiously. 'So you knew all along?'

'No!' said the magikoopa hastily. 'I never knew. I only guessed. And I didn't want to bring it up with you, given that... well... that is...'

'Spit it out already!'

'I liked seeing you happy,' Kamek finished, frowning. 'Even though I suspected that Luigi would not stay forever... it was quite nice to see you, my lord, forming a real friendship with someone. And I didn't dare take that happiness away from you.'

Bowser stared at the half-finished piece of chicken in his hand, momentarily stunned into speechlessness.  _All this time._ All this time, perhaps from the moment he'd taken Luigi prisoner, Kamek had known things he hadn't. And he hadn't said anything. Then the King found his voice.

'Since you know so much about this,' he growled, 'tell me what I should do now. And tell me the truth!'

Kamek tilted his head. 'You overestimate me, my lord. I don't know  _everything_ about the situation. I simply noticed... certain things that you didn't.'

'Yeah, but you obviously still know more than me!'

'So you want me to make a decision as to how you should act next? Knowing, and understanding fully, that I might be wrong?'

Bowser considered for a moment. 'Whatever decision you make is probably better than whatever I could come up with,' he said grudgingly. 'I'm here to burn things and beat up losers – you're here to do the hard work, like thinking.'

A quiet chuckle came from the magikoopa. 'Well said, sire... Well, here's what I believe you should do next. Send Luigi a letter.'

The piece of chicken fell onto the table with a thud. 'Send him a  _letter?_ Why?'

'Because,' said Kamek, 'before he left, Luigi was beginning to see you in the same way you saw him. As a friend. Oh, at first he was terrified of you, of course. But as time passed, he grew used to you – especially when you started treating him well. My, I still remember when you carried him to the hospital hall to heal his leg after I, erm, accidentally injured him. He grew to like your company, and eventually, to trust you.' Kamek paused briefly, while Bowser just sat in silence, letting the words sink in. 'Even though he left you, I do suspect that he would still be open to being your friend. If you're not threatening his brother or girlfriend's lives then I'm sure he'd be much more charitable towards you.'

Bowser barked out a harsh laugh, unable to stop himself. 'Oh yeah, sounds like a great plan. Send him a  _letter._ "Hi Luigi, I attacked you, broke your leg, kept you in a dungeon for two days, insulted your girlfriend, and tried to kill your girlfriend  _and_ brother in front of you, but hey, wanna be buddies?" That'll definitely go over well.'

Kamek huffed out an exasperated sigh. 'You already did most of those things  _before_ he started thinking of you as a friend; it didn't change the fact that he did.'

Bowser grunted, resting his chin on his hand and gazing blankly across the table, lost in thought. He was torn. On one hand, if he did what Kamek suggested and attempted to contact Luigi again, then he would look weak – a weak and lonely excuse for a King, seeking companionship from his own enemy because said enemy was the only person who showed any interest in him. On the other hand, if he didn't... then what would happen? Would he keep on living this way forever? He wasn't sure if he could. In just a few short days, he had learned what it felt like to have a friend, something he'd never really had before. He didn't like the idea of going through the rest of his life without having that feeling again.

He heaved out a long, despairing sigh which, for whatever reason, made Kamek smile knowingly.

'OK,  _fine,'_  he grumbled. 'I'll send the guy a stupid letter. I'll talk to him. I'll bet you fifty coins that he doesn't even reply.'

Kamek, who he doubted even owned fifty coins to wager, just smiled more widely and nodded his head. 'Then I hope you weren't saving up for anything, sire.'


	16. The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter! Thanks to anyone who read this far. All comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!

Luigi sighed, absently turning the pages of the book he was reading. It wasn't a sigh of frustration, but rather contentment. It had been a long day, and now he was quite happy to sit back in his armchair at home and do nothing except read. Mario wasn't home yet – he was at Peach's castle, supposedly enjoying a date with the princess.

Mario had been noticeably hesitant about spending time with Luigi lately, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. He still felt guilty over what he'd done to his brother, knowing he had failed him when it mattered most. And it would probably be a long time – weeks, maybe months – before he could let go of that guilt completely.

Luigi thought back to the moment when they'd all gotten home. Upon their escape from Bowser's castle, he, Mario and Daisy had mutually decided to stay in the brothers' house before telling Peach everything. The princess was either going to be annoyed that Mario and Daisy had left without telling her, or tearfully overjoyed that the three of them were all unharmed. Nobody was sure what her reaction would be, so they decided it was safer to avoid the confrontation for now.

Almost as soon as the front door had closed behind them, Mario had seized him in a frantic hug that nearly knocked the air out of his lungs. Daisy had laughed, but it sounded a little nervous. Luigi had just stood there, waiting. Then, at last, Mario pulled back and looked him in the eyes, and proceeded to give his brother the most long-winded and awkward (yet heartfelt) apology he had ever heard in his life.

Mario had eventually explained – with Daisy's help – that he had truly wanted to rescue Luigi, but had felt an obligation to stay with Peach and support her, especially considering Daisy had been captured as well and the two princesses were close friends. She had been devastated by the loss and Mario couldn't bear the idea of leaving her.

Luigi hadn't been surprised to learn that Daisy had helped plan the rescue mission for him. Out of everyone he knew, she had always been the one most willing to put herself in danger for him, to risk herself for his sake. She was brave, perhaps even braver than Mario. He'd always had a feeling that she would try to save him.

Nonetheless, he'd accepted Mario's apology. Any remnants of anger he felt towards his brother were rapidly fading as they all settled back into normal everyday life once again. He  _needed_  his brother, and he knew that Mario needed him too. Besides... it had been worth it to see the look of intense relief that flooded Mario's face when his apology was accepted.

They had told Peach the next morning. To everyone's surprise, she had immediately burst into tears upon seeing Luigi and hugged him even more forcefully than Mario had, all the while begging for his forgiveness. She had not been able to sacrifice her kingdom for his sake and Luigi understood that. He'd accepted her apology as well.

After that, everything went back to normal – except for a few things.

Daisy kept her word, and refused to let Luigi sink back into his previous life as Mario's shadow. Upon learning that Bowser had given him combat training and he was now a strong fighter in his own right, she had asked Peach to give him a place in her royal army. Now he was the commander of a small group of Toad and Koopa warriors.

His days were quickly overtaken by training and leading his battalion on missions, but he didn't mind. It gave him something to do, and he finally felt like he had a purpose in the world beyond being Mario's brother. And whenever he had free time, he would spend it with Daisy, going for walks through town or simply sitting in front of the fireplace together, enjoying each other's company.

It was a life he'd never expected to be given, and he appreciated every moment of it, but... something felt wrong.

He couldn't forget that Bowser was the entire reason why all of this had happened in the first place. It was thanks to Bowser that he had become a stronger person. It was thanks to Bowser that Mario had been forced to realise how important Luigi was to him and the two brothers' relationship had strengthened as a result.

_Isn't it ironic that him kidnapping me led to this?_ he thought, smiling slightly as he set his book down. Gazing thoughtfully out of the window, he wondered what Bowser was doing right now. Was the Koopa King in a rage over losing him, or had he already forgotten that Luigi was ever there?

He was surprised by how much it  _hurt_ to think of Bowser forgetting him. It was insane to feel the way he did towards the cruel King. Bowser had injured, kidnapped and imprisoned him, tried to use him as a bargaining chip against his friends, and insulted him more times than he cared to count. Yet...

He sighed, and this time it wasn't so contented.  _Why do I care about him?_ he thought.  _He probably didn't care about me at all. Sure, he was... almost nice to me sometimes, but that was as far as it went. Oh, who am I kidding? He was WAY nicer to me than he needed to be. I always thought there was something weird about that._

It had always been obvious to him that Bowser craved company. It was so strange. He was constantly surrounded by minions and his advisor, Kamek, was rarely far from his side, yet he had seemed...  _lonely._ Like a person who wants friends but doesn't know how to make any. Despite this, Luigi hesitated to believe that Bowser wanted to be friends with  _him._ It just seemed so ridiculous.

Suddenly, he was jerked out of his musings by a rapping noise at the window. Frowning, he got up and walked over. To his surprise, he could see the shape of Parakarry the mailman through the distorted glass.

He opened the window. 'Hey Parakarry, what's up?'

'Sorry, no time to chat!' the mailman said, his voice businesslike as usual. He rummaged in his bag and withdrew a letter, which he handed to Luigi through the window. 'I've got a lot to do. By the way, that letter came from Bowser's castle, so... be careful. I don't know what might be inside it.'

Luigi, who had been staring at the letter, stiffened. He looked up quickly to ask Parakarry a question, but the mailman had already taken off into the sky with a vigorous flapping of feathered wings.

He scratched his head. 'Hmm...' Without taking his eyes off the letter, he walked back to his armchair and tore it open. Inside was a thick sheet of paper covered in neat, narrow handwriting. There was no way such handwriting could have belonged to Bowser, and he felt some of the eagerness drain out of him.

He started reading anyway, and once he got past the first few lines, a smile had formed on his face.

_Hey, Green,_

_I hope this letter reaches you OK. I haven't sent a real letter in... years, I think. Anyway, I'm not actually writing this. I'm narrating it, and Kamek is doing the writing for me. Just 'cuz I hate writing things._

_I should probably get to the point, shouldn't I? Well, I know you've gone back home and you're not my minion anymore and you've probably got other things to do, but... urgh, how do I say this?!_

_It's really quiet here in the castle without you. I guess I got way too accustomed to you being around, because now you're gone, I have no idea what to do with myself anymore. I wanted to launch an attack on Peach's castle, but my army's too depleted to do that right now, so consider yourself lucky. What was I saying again...? Oh yeah, I just wanted to say that it's really boring here without you. And... urgh, I know we're enemies, kind of, but I wanted to ask if you... Oh, dammit! Kamek, write this stupid letter for me, I don't care anymore!_

_(Kamek here! I think what King Bowser is trying to say is that he misses your company very much. He liked you, Luigi – though I hardly think I need to tell you that. You spent enough time with him to notice._

_So, the point of this letter is... if you ever wish to write to us, or even come over to the castle for a visit, you'll be very welcome to. I hate to say it, but King Bowser is probably going to destroy something soon if he doesn't hear from you. The poor Koopa is very agitated, you know. He's even ADMITTED to me that he considers you a friend! Isn't that wonderful? Well, it's wonderful coming from Lord Bowser, at least._

_So, Luigi, please do write back as soon as possible. I'm sure King Bowser would love to talk to you again. Oh, and he's promised not to kidnap or harm Daisy in any way, plus I'm currently trying to convince him to give up on attacking the Mushroom Kingdom. So you shouldn't need to worry about that anymore._

_I hope you're well. Extend my polite greetings to Mario and Daisy.)_

_Regards, Lord Bowser (and Kamek)_

'Hey, what are you reading?' a curious voice spoke up behind him, making him jump. Still smiling, he turned to see Daisy standing there. She had obviously been reading the letter over his shoulder but was trying to pretend she hadn't.

Luigi gave it to her. 'It's from Bowser,' he said simply.

She scanned the letter again, her expression thoughtful. Then she looked at him. 'So, are you going to write back or what?'

He raised an eyebrow. 'You seem surprisingly OK with this...'

Daisy let out a quiet laugh, and moved to sit beside him on his armchair. 'Sweetie, I don't know everything that happened while you were in Bowser's castle. All I really know is that you went in terrified and came out stronger than I've ever seen you. Not to mention you stood up against Bowser to protect us, and he wanted you to stay with him for some reason... it wasn't hard to put the pieces together.  _Something_  happened between you and Bowser.'

Luigi nodded sheepishly, taking off his cap to run a hand through his hair. 'I guess you could say that.'

'So, do  _you_ consider  _him_ a friend?' Daisy asked as she scanned the letter again.

'Y-yeah, kind of. We spent a lot of time together... and it's because of him that I was able to become a better fighter. I wouldn't be in Peach's army now if it wasn't for him.'

'He helped you to escape Mario's shadow.'

Luigi nodded wryly. 'I'm sure that wasn't what he intended in the beginning... but that's how things turned out in the end.'

'So, are you gonna write back?' Daisy asked, handing the letter back to him. There was a faint smile on her face, and he knew that she would support him no matter what choice he made. A surge of love filled his chest at the thought. A little tentatively, he snuggled into her side and felt her arm immediately wrap around him in response, warm and comfortable. He read the letter through one last time, a decision already fixing itself in his mind even as he relaxed sleepily against her.

'Can you hand me that pen?'


End file.
